1. Clarity of Objective

A strategy must serve a defined outcome.

Key questions:

• What specific goal is the strategy designed to achieve?
• Is the goal measurable and time-bound?
• Is it aligned with the broader mission or life/business direction?

Diagnostic test:
If the objective cannot be stated in one sentence with a measurable outcome, the strategy is not yet evaluable.

Example structure:

Objective → Increase X by Y% within Z timeframe.

2. Environmental Fit

Strategy must match the external environment.

Areas to examine:

• Market conditions
• Competitor positioning
• Structural forces
• Timing

Frameworks commonly used:

• Porter’s Five Forces
• PESTLE analysis
• Industry lifecycle analysis

Evaluation question:

Does the strategy exploit a real opportunity or mispricing in the environment?

Many strategies fail because they assume conditions that do not exist.

3. Internal Capability Alignment

A strategy only works if the actor can execute it.

Assess:

• Skills
• Resources
• Network access
• Operational capacity

Classic framework:

• VRIO Framework

Questions:

• Do we possess valuable resources?
• Are they rare?
• Are they difficult to imitate?
• Are we organized to exploit them?

Without capability alignment, strategy becomes aspiration.

4. Risk–Return Profile

Every strategy is an investment decision.

Evaluate:

Risk

• Capital exposure
• Reputational exposure
• Time cost
• Opportunity cost

Return

• Financial gain
• Strategic leverage
• Knowledge acquisition
• Network expansion

Useful structure (which aligns with your earlier risk framework):

A strong strategy has asymmetric payoff:

limited downside, significant upside.

5. Coherence of the System

Strategy is not one action. It is a set of reinforcing choices.

Michael Porter describes this as activity system fit.

Signals of strong coherence:

• Actions reinforce each other
• Trade-offs are clear
• Competitors cannot easily copy the system

Weak strategies look like lists of initiatives rather than a coherent model.

6. Feedback and Adaptation

No strategy survives unchanged.

Evaluation requires:

• Leading indicators
• Feedback loops
• Adjustment mechanisms

Metrics must include:

Lagging indicators

• Revenue
• Growth
• Output

Leading indicators

• Customer engagement
• Pipeline development
• Behavioral signals

Good strategy is adaptive rather than rigid.

The Fast Strategic Evaluation Test

A quick 5-question diagnostic used in consulting:

1. What problem is this strategy solving?
2. What advantage does it create?
3. Why can we execute it better than others?
4. What must be true for it to work?
5. How will we know quickly if it’s failing?

If any of these cannot be answered clearly, the strategy is structurally weak.

One More Strategic Principle

The most common mistake is confusing goals with strategy.

Example:

Goal

Grow business by 50%.

Strategy

Focus on premium clients and eliminate low-margin segments.

Actions

Pricing changes, sales targeting, service redesign.

Only the middle layer is strategy.

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