Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Get started
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
This Is Strategy summary
Seth Godin
Make Better Plans
21 mins
Brief summary
This Is Strategy by Seth Godin examines how strategic thinking can drive innovation and growth. It emphasizes the importance of embracing change, challenging norms, and crafting a clear vision to thrive in today's evolving market.
Table of Contents
This Is Strategy
Summary of 7 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 7
Building the foundation for clear, effective strategy
Strategy is about making deliberate choices today that lead to meaningful outcomes tomorrow. It gives you clarity about what to focus on and helps you direct your energy toward actions that align with your goals. Without this sense of direction, it’s easy to get stuck merely reacting to events, rather than making real progress.
The key to effective strategy is understanding what drives the people involved. People often act based on their need for connection, recognition, or safety. Whether you’re designing a product, organizing a team, or deciding how to present an idea, these motivations are central to how others respond. A strong approach aligns with these needs, creating a plan that resonates.
Strategy is what shapes the overall framework, setting long-term priorities and laying a foundation for action. Tactics, on the other hand, focus on specific steps to address immediate problems. If you’re planning a business expansion, the strategy might involve choosing which markets to prioritize, while the tactics could be selecting the advertising channels to use or negotiating local partnerships. Without a clear strategy, your tactical decisions will lack focus, making success harder to achieve.
Every plan operates within systems – structures like industries, markets, or cultural norms that shape outcomes. And while systems create stability and consistency, they also resist change. For example, educational institutions have rigid admissions criteria because these systems value tradition and reliability. Working with a system – like designing a program to fit these criteria – can lead to success. Fighting against it – trying to completely change those criteria overnight – is likely to drain your resources and fail.
Commitment drives the ability to follow through on plans. It arises from the clarity that a strong strategy provides. When you’ve carefully chosen what to prioritize, sticking with those decisions becomes easier. This focus helps you resist distractions and take consistent actions, even when conditions change. Whether you’re working with existing systems or creating new ones, this disciplined approach is the cornerstone for lasting results.
Want to see all full key ideas from This Is Strategy?
Key ideas in This Is Strategy
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is This Is Strategy about?
This is Strategy (2024) explores strategy as a mindset rather than a rigid plan, encouraging you to embrace adaptability and intentionality in your decision-making. It offers insights on influencing systems and prioritizing long-term goals to create meaningful, sustainable change.
Who should read This Is Strategy?
- Innovators seeking to influence systems and drive change
- Problem-solvers creating impactful and sustainable strategies
- Decision-makers balancing short-term actions with future outcomes
Categories with This Is Strategy
Book summaries like This Is Strategy
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.8 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
35 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth