There is a very real business use for a strategy summary as part of every business plan, even a lean plan. Since strategy is focus, it leads to some difficult decisions as time goes on. New opportunities arise. Some new opportunities are great additions, offering healthy evolution and growth. Others are dangerous distractions that dilute the business, blur the focus, and bring the business down. The owner, owners, or real core management team have to make these decisions, and they are hard. Normal entrepreneurs want to go into every new market to please everybody they can. So a good strategy summary helps to frame the new opportunities right.

There’s no obvious formula for making these decisions. They don’t teach it in business school. It’s something business owners have to do for themselves. There is always risk and opportunity. So you refer to your strategy summary first, and then think about it.

This should come up in the monthly review sessions I recommend for every lean business planning process for every business. That’s in Section 3, Keeping it Live.