Ep 33 - Sneak Peek of My Upcoming Book: You Are A Strategist (not just an OKRs book)

Ever feel like you're speaking a different language than your colleagues when presenting your ideas? Or, like a square peg in your work? Do you feel like you're trying to read minds to understand what's expected of you, while your co-workers are just humming along doing their work? 

Or, do you lead people who that describes well?

In this powerful episode, Sara Lobkovich reveals why the very qualities that might make some people feel like an outsider at work—being "too analytical" or "too detail-oriented"—could actually be their greatest strategic strengths (and a tremendous asset to the organizations they work within).

In today's Thinkydoers short, hear a preview of the Introduction to Sara's upcoming book: 

You Are A Strategist: Use No-BS Objectives and Key Results to Get Big Things Done

"You Are A Strategist" isn't just another theoretical strategy book. It's a practical playbook for people who think differently about work and want to make real change happen. Through frameworks like the Connected Strategic One-Pager and No-BS OKRs, you'll discover how to transform your strategic insights into clear, compelling direction that others can actually follow, without getting lost in politics or burning out.

Drawing from her experience training over 2,000 OKR coaches across more than 300 organizations globally, Sara shares a human-centered approach to strategy that works for everyone—not just those with traditional business backgrounds or positions of power. Whether you're in the C-Suite, a chief of staff, a program manager, a product manager, a project lead, department director, or high-performing individual contributor (or beyond!), this episode will help you unlock your inner strategist and make your unique impact.

Episode Highlights:

• Why being "strategic" isn't about being smart or having a specific job title
• The five key questions that identify strategic thinkers
• How to recognize and empower strategic thinkers in your organization
• Why ideas alone aren't enough in today's business environment
• Introduction to Connected Strategic One-sheet and No-BS OKRs
• The science behind goal-setting and motivation

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] Introduction to Thinkydoer Shorts

[00:39] Introduction to You Are A Strategist

[01:28] Dedication and Audience

[01:53] Identifying Strategists

[02:25] Challenges and Misconceptions

[04:29] Defining Strategy and Strategists

[10:17] The Role of Ideas in Strategy

[12:18] Implementing Strategic Goals

[19:39] The Connected Strategic One Sheet and No BS OKRs

[26:57] Conclusion and Next Steps

Notable Quotes:

[00:05:00] "The job isn't to convince people that you're a smart person; it's to clarify situations so everyone can do the smart thing." (Referencing a quote by Rob Estreitinho of Salmon Labs)

[00:07:00] "If you read books and research papers for fun and delight in spotting ways that wildly disparate information connects to create new ideas and approaches, that might be you."

[00:09:00] "Good strategy makes the work better, but you don't see the strategy itself. The strategy is the scaffolding that the stuff you ultimately see rests on."

[00:12:00] "If anyone is to have any hope of solving the major organizational, cultural, and existential problems we all face together today, insightful, curious, linky brains are an asset."

[00:16:00] "In today's market and work world, every person can operate strategically, no matter how senior or tactical your role. Strategy is clear expectations."

[00:24:00] "Strategy achievement, at its core, is human behavior change. Psychological research in the motivation sciences fields shows that human behavior change relies heavily on the creation of specific, actionable goals and a learning-focused approach."

Key Takeaways:

• Strategy is about clarifying situations so everyone can do the smart thing
• Strategic thinking is independent of job title or role
• Good strategy makes work better but often remains invisible
• Clear expectations and empirical measurements are crucial for success
• Strategy achievement is fundamentally about human behavior change

Resources Mentioned:

• You Are A Strategist book: youareastrategist.com
• No-BS OKRs Workbook (PDF download): https://findrc.co/4ggdAtz
• Newsletter signup: findrc.co/newsletter

Mentioned in this episode:

Join the Strategic Clarity Workshop Waitlist for Early Bird Access

Are you ready to not just set goals, but actually change behavior to achieve them without overwhelm, shame, blame, or overthinking. Join me for the Strategic Clarity Workshop. A No-BS hands-on experience, where you'll turn your vision into a reality proof plan for real measurable results in a calm, supportive space. We're opening up the June dates very soon, and the early bird sale will be limited, so learn more and join the wait list at findrc.co/scwtd or look for the link for the Strategic Clarity Workshop on findrc.co or saralobkovich.com.