Times they are a changin...

Bob Dylan gave us that line in 1964.

Decades later, Boston Consulting Group made a less poetic version of the same observation: turbulence and uncertainty were becoming more frequent, more intense, and more persistent across many industries.

Most of us would struggle to argue that our operating environments are less volatile now than they were 15 years ago.

Change is not an interruption to strategy. It is the environment strategy has to work within.

So, what does that mean for how we develop strategy?

It means strategy needs to be able to adapt.

It needs to be designed so that a changed assumption, decision, timeline, or task does not send the whole organisation back to the drawing board.

A good strategy must provide direction. It must connect with why the organisation exists, respect the people and stakeholders involved, and create a shared basis for action.

But it does not need to prescribe every future move.

A clear strategy that answers these questions can provide a strong foundation:

• What do we do—and what do we choose not to do?

• Who do we serve, work with, and affect?

• Why does this work matter?

• What does success look like?

The lack of excessive detail is not a bug. It is a feature.

It forces leaders to keep asking: “What does this mean for us now?”

That can feel uncomfortable. It requires us to accept that the future will change in ways we cannot fully control.

It requires us to build strategies and organisations that are better prepared to respond.

And it requires us to accept that these times are in fact a changin.