Book - Good Strategy, Bad Strategy - Richard Rumelt

In the last few weeks, I decided to challenge myself and read Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt in English. Unlike my previous book, which was fiction and used simpler words, this one brings a more corporate tone but it’s still very readable. It’s one of the most quoted books in MBAs, but rarely put into practice. Rumelt talks about strategy in a way that makes many corporate plans full of fancy phrases look like random words written to impress a CEO or investor.

One of the main ideas is that a good strategy is not about saying you want to “be a market leader”, “change the future” or “inspire the world”. That’s just a wish. Real strategy means identifying a specific problem, understanding what really blocks progress, and building a clear and coherent plan to fix it. It sounds obvious, but as the author says, the obvious is often ignored.

Rumelt mixes war stories, company turnarounds and unexpected decisions to show that good strategy comes from focus. It’s about choosing what not to do, cutting the noise, aiming at one target and using the little you have to create the biggest impact. He talks about finding the “leverage point”, that single decision that can change everything without needing an army of resources. Or as my great friend and client Emílio used to say: “take action to move the needle”.

Another strong point is that advantage is not an accident. It’s built over time with decisions that reinforce each other, like placing a pawn behind a knight in chess, where every piece helps the other become stronger. Growth for example, is not good if it’s not organized. Growing just to grow only inflates the ego (or the spreadsheet). Growth should have purpose, structure and timing when the context allows.

He also talks about inertia, that heavy force that makes companies repeat the same moves for years. Instead of fighting it, a good strategist learns to use it. You change what needs to change, but keep what still works.

At the end, Rumelt shows the other side of the coin, bad strategy. The kind made to fit on a slide, full of buzzwords but empty of action. The one everyone claps for in a meeting and forgets about the next day.

Reading this book made me realize how powerful the basics are when done right. A good strategy doesn’t need fancy terms, it needs clarity and courage to choose. Rumelt doesn’t romanticize the topic, he reminds us that thinking takes effort and that the biggest enemy of strategy is often the laziness to think.

It’s a straightforward, no-nonsense book that makes you look at your own plans and ask: is this real strategy or just a well-formatted wish?

Highly recommended.