Sara Thomas

⏺ Strategic decisions keeping you up at night? The same 3 frameworks solve 90% of strategic challenges. Most leaders struggle because they lack a systematic approach to portfolio management, growth planning, and organizational alignment. Here's your executive toolkit: BCG Growth-Share Matrix: → Portfolio decisions made simple → Stars: Invest heavily to maintain dominance → Cash Cows: Harvest profits, fund growth elsewhere → Question Marks: Make critical invest-or-divest calls → Dogs: Restructure or divest to free resources Ansoff Matrix: → Growth strategy clarity → Market Penetration: Low risk, existing strengths → Market Development: Medium risk, new territories → Product Development: Medium risk, innovation focus → Diversification: High risk, maximum opportunity McKinsey 7-S Framework: → Organizational effectiveness → Hard Elements: Strategy, Structure, Systems → Soft Elements: Staff, Skills, Style, Shared Values → All seven must align for sustainable success The magic happens when you use them sequentially: 1. Start with 7-S to assess organizational readiness 2. Use Ansoff to identify growth opportunities 3. Apply BCG to allocate resources effectively Result? Clear strategic direction that your entire leadership team can execute. The best leaders don't just make decisions, they make strategic decisions systematically. Which framework will you implement first in your next quarterly review? — 👉 DM me “GROWTH” to book a free 30-minute strategy call. And get actionable leadership tips right in your inbox every Wednesday. (Newsletter link in my bio).

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The Gap that swallows Millions - yet no one talks about. This gap doesn’t show up on market reports. It is not mentioned in most Business Development Strategy Decks. And no one puts it in the proposal post-mortem. But it is there. ✅ Between the promising meeting... ❌ …and the silence that follows. ✅ Between your brilliant offer... ❌ …and their quiet decision to walk away. It is the Cultural Trust Gap — and most Western professionals don’t even know they have fallen into it. - They fly in. - They prepare. - They bring credentials, market research, polished decks. But in the Gulf, deals don’t fall through because of what is on the slides. They fall through because of what is not understood. - How trust is built. - When to speak. - Who introduces you. - Why silence means “not yet” — not “no.” - What signals respect — and what quietly signals risk. This is the gap I am closing. ❌ Not by teaching generic “cultural awareness.” ❌ Not by recycling surface-level tips. But by giving Western professionals a repeatable framework that bridges the invisible divide between great ideas — and trusted relationships. It is the difference between being a visitor… and being invited back. This is what is in The Gulf Etiquette Success Playbook. Because one small misstep can cost you a deal — But one small shift in approach can open doors you didn’t know existed. Get it here: https://lnkd.in/e5p3RrRE ps. also how excited am I to talk business and strategy with my good friend Ahmed AbdulAziz Buhajeeh today.

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McKinsey studied 7,800 CEOs from 70 countries. And discovered 18 practices that separate the best from the rest. They identified six key areas, each with distinct practices that drive their success. Here’s a breakdown of those areas and the 18 practices that matter most: 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 1) Reframe what winning means: Set bold, visionary goals that stretch beyond the obvious. 2) Make bold moves early: Prioritize decisive, high-impact moves at the beginning of your tenure. 3) Dynamically allocate resources: Reallocate capital where it’s needed most and continuously optimize. 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 4) Manage performance and health with equal rigor: Ensure your company excels both strategically and culturally. 5) Match talent to value: Focus on putting the right people in the most critical roles. 6) Go beyond employee engagement: Measure and manage all cultural elements that drive performance. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 7) Put team dynamics ahead of mechanics: Cultivate a top team that works together towards a shared vision. 8) Defend against biases: Protect decision-making processes from cognitive biases. 9) Ensure coherence across management processes: Make sure all systems work together to propel execution. 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 10) Promote a forward-looking agenda: Work with your board to address not just compliance but also strategy and growth. 11) Develop strong relationships: Build trust and transparency with individual board members. 12) Balance board composition and capabilities: Ensure your board has the right expertise to help the business thrive. 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 13) Center on the long-term “Why?”: Embed corporate purpose into daily decisions and external messaging. 14) Prioritize stakeholder interactions: Actively engage with key stakeholders to drive alignment and results. 15) Prepare for crises: Anticipate major risks and develop resilience strategies ahead of time. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 16) Manage time and energy: Create structures that help you focus on what only you can do. 17) Choose authenticity: Lead in a way that reflects who you are, as well as your company’s needs. 18) Guard against hubris: Stay humble and open to feedback to keep your leadership grounded. These 18 practices define what separates the best CEOs from the rest. Which one do you think is most important? --------- Better strategy -> better performance. I'm Alex Nesbitt. I help CEOs accelerate strategy and build more effective companies. 💡 Like this way of thinking? Join the waitlist for the next Strategy Accelerator program -> https://lnkd.in/grEq_5AF

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For too long, strategy has informed execution. It's time execution informs strategy. The old-school formula is too familiar: McKinsey decks → 3-year plans → transformation teams tasked with "rolling it out". For decades it's been the C-suite retreating, the consultants polishing the decks, and the plan getting pushed down to the masses to magically implement. But in today's world, that formula no longer works. Top-down strategies fail because they assume reality is predictable, while the truth is reality no longer sits still long enough for a slide deck to matter the second it leaves the board room. No pretty PowerPoint plan survives contact with today's fast-moving reality. AI is rewriting workflows in real time. Customer expectations shift way faster than your budget cycles. Workforces are more distributed, skeptical and vocal than ever before. Execution is no longer where strategy "rolls out". It's where reality checks in. It's where customers decide whether your brand promise holds up. It's where employees decide if this "transformation" is actually doable or just another corporate fad. It's where the glossy story you tell meets the not-so-glossy story your people are living every day. And this is why execution must now inform strategy. ✅ Build real-time feedback loops from execution into strategy. Make frontline adoption data, customer voices, employee sentiment and workflow signals the inputs to plans. Insights from frontline managers should shape roadmaps way faster than ELT off sites. ✅ Workflow and behavior data should point leadership toward what's working and what isn't. Treat execution as a series of always-on A/B tests and a portfolio of experiments, not a fixed one-way-only plan rollout. ✅ Shift from "top-down program reporting" to "bottom-up pattern recognition". Look for trends and patterns in your data, learn what leads to results across functions, geographies and teams, and double down on your organization's already-existing strengths. CEOs and transformation leaders who lack real-time feedback loops from the ground will find it impossible to navigate the next 10 years. If strategy only flows downwards, you end up with pretty slides and clunky realities. If you build a system of compounding intelligence where execution informs strategy, you end up with strategies that live, breathe and continuously adapt to reality no matter how fast it moves. Because reality doesn't read your plan. Your plan has to read reality.

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Up to 45% of a company’s performance variation is directly tied to the effectiveness of its CEO (McKinsey). Whether they realize it or not, CEOs profoundly shape the organization—often more than they think. I once worked with a CEO of an engineering firm. Brilliant, visionary, full of passion. But his spontaneous ideas created chaos. A passing comment in a meeting could send teams scrambling, regardless of feasibility. Another CEO casually mentioned he preferred a slightly different shade of blue in a promotional video. The change was so subtle that even the marketing team couldn’t see it. But because he was the CEO, no one questioned it—his Friday comment for a Monday launch, meant the whole department worked the weekend at significant financial cost. In the end, nobody noticed the difference. A total waste of energy. The latest HBR article "When Your CEO’s Leadership Creates Chaos" resonated deeply. It highlights how disorder at the top cascades downward. Behaviours that fuel chaos include: ➡️ Overreacting or micromanaging ➡️ Constantly shifting priorities ➡️ Lack of clear goals ➡️ Rewarding crisis-management over prevention The impact? Lower morale, confusion, poor execution, and eroded trust. So what can senior leaders do? ➡️ Bring clarity—translate CEO input into actionable plans ➡️ Push back constructively (and diplomatically) Collaborate with peers. ➡️ Build buffers to protect teams from volatility ➡️ Track patterns of chaos with data ➡️ Encourage clearer communication and more predictable planning The big takeaway: CEOs must recognize the ripple effects of their style. Leadership isn’t about glorifying chaos—it’s about providing stability, focus, and accountability. What do you think—have you seen small CEO actions create outsized impact? #CEO #CHRO

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𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 is the weekly Build Scale Grow newsletter delivering actionable insights to over 7,600 ambitious learners. Many founders face an existential challenge: "𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄." In the newsletter, we share hard-earned valuable lessons and insights from successful founders, open-minded investors, and seasoned operators. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘄𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱: · Sales: Convert Your Dread into Confidence · Why Saying “No” Supercharged Our Growth · Tune Out the Noise, Prioritize Your Customers · Networking: Preparation, Survival, and Science · Founders: Stop Reimbursing Your VC’s Legal Fees · Introverted Leadership from Reflection to Revolution To subscribe, click on the link in the top comment! 👇 #leaders #founder #adapt #startups

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