Oil of Olay was a tired lotion brand of no edge, no sizzle. Just memories. Yet Lafley didn’t see a product. He saw a strategic choice. Martin helped him frame it using five killer questions: What is our winning aspiration? Not survival. Domination. They aimed for $1 billion in sales and leadership in the North American skincare market. Where will we play? They drew a new battlefield between luxury creams (like Estée Lauder) and basic drugstore brands (like Nivea). The space between prestige and price. A new masstige category. How will we win? By being better, not cheaper. Formulate actual…

This five-question model didn’t just save a dying brand, but it created a $2.5B market leader. Because strategy is not fluff, it’s about making choices under uncertainty. That’s what risk is. Strategy is risk, organized. Let me explain. Here’s why it matters to you “Where will we play?” Most professionals skip this. They are everywhere; that’s how you get disrupted. “How will we win?” Not vague goals, actual trade-offs. Price or quality? Depth or reach? “What capabilities must we have?” If you want to lead tech but don’t invest in data talent, you are bluffing, simple. “What systems do we…

Every entrepreneur talks about success, but no one tells you the price tags attached. Before I pivoted to strategy, risk, and leadership, I was a fraud investigator. Few professions offer the same mix of fulfilment and adrenaline as investigations. The thrill of responding to a crime scene, taking notes, preserving evidence, recording statements, analyzing facts, developing a fraud hypothesis, gathering proof, interviewing suspects, and confronting the prime suspect. It’s captivating and addictive. You find yourself chasing the truth relentlessly. Who did it? How? Why? The process of connecting the dots becomes an obsession. You don’t rest until the whole puzzle…