Geoff McDonald Business Strategy Rules Rule GeoffMcDonald.com

Business Strategy Rules The big challenge around Business Strategy Rules and Project Design is to plan just the right amount. My first career was as an architect. Our role was to plan every single thing before any construction started. Whilst this worked for 50-storey skyscrapers, it’s unlikely to be the best way to design your […]

Geoff McDonald Business Strategy Rules Rule GeoffMcDonald.comBusiness Strategy Rules

The big challenge around Business Strategy Rules and Project Design is to plan just the right amount.


My first career was as an architect. Our role was to plan every single thing before any construction started. Whilst this worked for 50-storey skyscrapers, it’s unlikely to be the best way to design your project or create your business strategy.


It prompts the question: How much is the right amount of planning?


Ironically, planning too much can waste time, money and effort. And, planning too little can also waste time, money and effort.


Planning too much can also be a form of procrastination.


Also, what’s the best way to plan when we’re tackling something you haven’t done before? How do you even know what to plan for when you can’t predict what will work?


A Good Strategic Plan

Ideally, a good strategic plan should enable us to:

Get started quickly
Give direction without limiting our choices
Learn what works through real feedback

The alternative to a big fat time-consuming plan is to create a series of project rules that define what to work on, when to work on them and how to make smart decisions along the way.


The key to Business Strategy Rules is to create rules as the means to define your strategy. Rather than define everything, simply define guidelines to use along the way.


The key to a simple Business Strategy is to create simple rules


Ideas Architect Podcast

In Episode 97 of the Ideas Architect Podcast, we have the fifth chapter and third of the seven rules from my book Project Passion.


Some of the things you will learn from this episode include:

The Goldilocks Planning Trap
How to Cook a Meal
The Scariest Movie Scene Ever
Triage and Business Strategy
The Four Reasons Simple Rules Work
The Steve Jobs Strategy Quadrant
The Secret to Clarity
Why Creatives Should Use Rules
Simple Rules by Donald Sull and Kathleen Eisenhardt on Wikipedia

Podcast Show Notes

Project Passion Book Introduction



Project Passion Introduction Part 2



3 Project Passion #3 How not to Plan Your Project


4 Business Coaching: Don’t Fix Problems


Seven Rules of Project Passion



Project Passion


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