Strategy First, Efficiency Second

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” – Peter Drucker

In an age obsessed with productivity hacks, streamlined workflows, and “doing more with less,” leaders risk falling into a dangerous trap: efficiency without strategic clarity.

Richard Rumelt In his book The Crux, he argues that strategy is not about doing everything better—it is about identifying and tackling the single most critical challenge—the crux—that, if solved, unlocks disproportionate progress.

Yet too many organisations fall prey to what Rumelt calls “bright, shiny distractions”: financial targets that masquerade as strategy, long lists of unfocused initiatives, and relentless pressure for short-term performance. Teams work harder and faster, but progress stalls because effort is scattered—or worse, directed at the wrong problems.

The real leadership question isn’t:

✅ “How can we do this faster?”

But rather:

✅ “Should we be doing this at all?”

Three Strategic Truths Leaders Must Embrace

1. Strategy is choice—what you refuse to do matters as much as what you pursue.

Rumelt emphasises that effective strategists deliberately concentrate resources on the crux—the solvable, high-impact challenge. Saying “no” is as strategic as saying “yes.”

Consider SpaceX: Elon Musk didn’t attempt to reinvent all aspects of space travel at once. He focused on the most critical constraint—rocket costs—and solved it through reusability. That focus reshaped the entire industry.

2. Activity ≠ impact—measure real outcomes, not busyness.

Many leadership teams confuse a long list of initiatives with strategic progress. Rumelt warns that financial goals and vision statements are not strategy; they are aspirations. Proper strategy begins with diagnosing the critical challenge.

Netflix illustrates this principle well. Subscriber growth targets didn’t drive its pivot to original content—it came from identifying its crux: overdependence on third-party studios, which threatened its future. Solving that challenge created a sustainable competitive edge.

3. Focus beats efficiency every time.

Efficiency is seductive because it is measurable, but it can be dangerously misleading. Organisations often optimise processes that should not exist in the first place.

Rumelt likens great strategy to rock climbing: success depends on solving the “crux”—the hardest move that determines whether you reach the summit. Concentrated force on the right challenge, not thinly spread effort, is what drives breakthroughs.

The Strategic Pause Before Acting

Before launching another wave of initiatives or optimising existing processes, leaders should ask themselves:

☑ Are we solving the right problem?

☑ Are our teams working on what truly drives value?

☑ Are we measuring impact, or just activity?

The paradox is clear:

Doing less of the wrong things creates more value than doing more of everything.

The Strategic Edge: Saying No to the Wrong Work

Rumelt’s central lesson for leaders is simple: strategy starts with diagnosis, not with a list of goals. The work of leadership is to identify the crux, align resources to it, and—most importantly—say no to everything else.

A good strategy is not about brilliance; it is about focus. It is the discipline to resist the lure of busyness and commit to solving the one challenge that genuinely makes a difference.

As Drucker warned decades ago, efficiency without strategy is just wasted effort. Strategic advantage begins the moment you stop doing what doesn’t matter.

For organisations seeking to sharpen their strategic focus, Visualise Solutions provides tools, training, and facilitation services to help leaders identify their “crux”—the critical challenges that drive real progress. By aligning resources with the right strategic priorities, Visualise Solutions helps organisations move beyond busyness to achieve meaningful impact.