HBR Guides to Building Your Strategic Skills Collection (3 Books)

CHAPTER 15

Which Strategy “Comfort Traps” Are You Falling Into?

by Roger L. Martin

Faced with an unpredictable future, strategy makers often fall into three traps:

1. Strategic planning: They create a long list of to-dos without having a strategy to carry out.
2. Cost-based thinking: They try to model revenue (which is hard to nail down) the same way they model costs (which are much easier to predict).
3. Self-referential frameworks: They focus on the company’s existing strengths and its ability to quickly copy rivals’ moves instead of finding a new source of competitive advantage.

Though understandable, these avoidance behaviors are dangerous. If creating strategy feels comfortable, chances are you’re not really doing it.

Answer the following questions ...