cases existing capabilities may have become obsolete or commoditised and/or are serving a market that is no longer attractive or may not even exist. In other cases, a new market or need may emerge that requires new capabilities. Such a case is a windfall for organisations that are agile, focused and strategic. For the others, it will be yet another lost opportunity where management have become too focused, too operational and/or too industry hardened to see the opportunities (or threats) and adjust accordingly for them.

The Strategist will see scenarios (opportunities & threats) evolving, conceptualise a plan and develop charts to navigate an appropriate course. They see things that others in the organisation can't see or don't see which may be due to their position or many reasons. The strategist advisor uses a combination of their strategic sense, experience and analytical approach, combined with their independence and objectivity to create a fresh new perspective for the team. 

Great strategy is underpinned by great strategic analysis and design, an approach that robustly assesses strengths and opportunities (competitive advantage) as well as key risks or vulnerabilities. A strategist who can identify where to seed (to grow) and where to weed (out the problems) is invaluable to any leadership team developing successful strategy. The frustrations, distractions and lost opportunities from ongoing persistent business problems will cost any business greatly and in areas they simply never envisaged.

The Strategist aims to identify, understand and address the root (or cause) of both success and failure in a business environment from which to design resilient strategies that maximise the organisation's capabilities and the needs they serve. They do this using strategic skills, unique experiences and systematically gathering and confronting 'the facts' of any given situation. They generally despise opinions or assumptions, unless they can be convinced otherwise. In many cases success comes from matching the right strategy or capability to the right problem or opportunity. In some 

The Strategist

Henry David Thoreau once said "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root". In any gathering of leaders (to solve a problem) you'll easily pick the Strategist - the one asking the strange questions, the questions nobody cares to ask or thinks to ask or is afraid to ask! The one searching for the elusive root cause of the problem rather than the 'obvious' symptoms. To kill a weed for good, you must kill the root. The same applies to business problems.