BELLWOODS STRATEGY PERSPECTIVES
Ideas, observations, and stories that shape how we think about strategy and clarity.
The Strategy Paradox: Why Leaders Can't Wait for Perfect Conditions
The temptation to postpone strategic work until conditions improve has become one of the most dangerous defaults in business leadership. Overlapping crises aren't temporary obstacles anymore, they're the permanent backdrop. Organizations that wait for calm waters to define their strategy risk being caught unprepared when the next wave hits. The ones that thrive are learning to build clarity in the rain.
How do you build strategy when perfect conditions never arrive?
"The organizations that win this year won't be the ones that found calm waters. They'll be the ones that refused to let turbulence turn into drift."
Coherence
Every year, leaders look for a word to steady the conversation as the calendar flips. For Bellwoods Strategy, the word for 2026 is coherence. When strategy and story reinforce each other, leadership intent translates into daily decisions without constant intervention. When customers experience externally what teams feel internally, momentum builds. Organizations are shifting from command-and-control to coherence, and understanding this shift is what creates winners in 2026.
What happens when teams move with shared conviction instead of constant correction?
"Coherence is what happens when strategy and story reinforce each other instead of competing for attention."
The Authenticity Trap: Why Authenticity Is an Outcome, Not a Strategy
When brands fail, leaders often diagnose the problem as lacking authenticity. But authenticity isn't something you can capture or achieve—it's a perception your audience grants when your actions align with your stated values. The real disease isn't inauthenticity, it's incoherence. Without clarity about what you stand for, coherence in how you express it, and consistency in how you show up, authenticity remains impossible.
What happens when you stop chasing authenticity and start building structure?
"You cannot build toward authenticity the way you build toward awareness or consideration or revenue. You cannot workshop it, manufacture it, or deploy it."
One Nation, Ten Provinces
Travel has a way of reframing perspective. It gives you context, and that’s an important refresher for strategy practitioners. Good strategy doesn’t just live in data and theory; it lives in people, values, and culture.
What can travel teach us about strategy, connection, and our lived experience?
”Strategy doesn’t travel well if it doesn’t translate. And translation starts with understanding.”
Read the full article on Medium ›
The Story Still Being Written
In moments of uncertainty, we look for stories that make sense of where we are and help us take the next step. Good strategy doesn’t predict the future. It gives people the confidence to move toward it.
What if clarity isn’t about knowing the whole story, but helping write the next line?
“These are the kinds of stories that remind us what good strategy actually looks like: not grand gestures, but steady, focused progress. Not waiting for the stars to align, but helping people see the next step and giving them the confidence to take it.”
Read the full article on Medium ›
Imagination is the Superpower: Reflections on Independence
Strategy doesn't start with answers. It starts with purpose, the belief that something better is possible, and worth pursuing. That's where imagination comes in. It's not abstract. It's fuel.
What makes imagination America’s superpower?
“Time and again, I've been struck by the distinctly American instinct to challenge assumptions that others take as gospel. To look at established ways of doing things and ask, 'But what if we didn't?' That restless 'what if' isn't just optimism. It's a competitive advantage.”
Read the full article on Medium ›
