Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

by Richard P. Rumelt

Stewart and Lynda Resnick’s POM Wonderful pomegranate business is an example of acting creatively to generate more demand.

In 1998, the Resnicks began to fund research on the properties of pomegranates. The researchers reported that the juice contained even more antioxidants than red wine. Further study suggested that the juice might lower blood pressure and that its concentration of flavonoids might help prevent prostate cancer. Since 1998, the Resnicks have donated more than $30 million to research into the fruit’s health benefits. The Resnicks developed a strategy of dramatically increasing the national demand for pomegranates.

Willing them to understand, I say, “But, you do not have to be a captive to that unconscious dodge. You can choose how you will approach a problem; you can guide your own thinking about it.” I want them to see that this is the heart of the matter. This personal skill is more important than any one so-called strategy concept, tool, matrix, or analytical framework. It is the ability to think about your own thinking, to make judgments about your own judgments.