STRATSCRAPS v196

Strategy Concepting

Dec 23, 2025

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Finally reading east of eden for the first time. There is a character is who known for being highly inventive and constantly coming up with new ways to solve old problems. However he fails to ever make any money and dies poor because he gives his inventions away for free.

I could have made the following point without that anecdote, but it felt related.

Because it reminded me of a good strategist. Strategists have to be happy with the getting to sit down and think about a problem without ever getting rich from their work.

But inventors do something that strategists don’t. They concept. Creatives concept. Artists concept. Architects, builders, and nearly every other creative task requires a concepting phase.

And you don’t get a ton of push back claiming that strategy is a creative act. I could argue either side of that statement, but it’s not a controversial take.

But we don’t concept. What would a conceptual sketch or proof of concept look like for strategy? What’s the back of the napkin version?

Whether or not you think Strategy is comparable to invention or art or design – a concept phase would absolutely improve the outcome.

But instead we try and just brute force think our way into a final answer from scratch… Ok here is the research. Now let me just do some thinking, make a leap or make a choice, and the answer should appear.

That doesn’t seem right.

On the other hand, what exactly would a proof of concept for a strategy look like? It’s kind of a discontinuous innovation (e.g. like inventing the wheel – there were no concepts of the wheel, as soon as it is sketched, you have invented it. Fascist and aspiring feudal lord Peter Thiel calls this a “zero to one” invention.)

I’m not sure what the answer is, but I stand by the thought that strategy thinking should have a concepting phase of the thinking that involves more napkins and less rounds of review that water down the thinking rather than build it out.

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Some of my fav things from 2025 STRAT_SCRAPS:

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Playgrounds over process.

I stumbled across this little write up:

Playgrounds over Paths
Today’s standard design wisdom focuses on the design of linear paths. Sometimes they may branch, but they’re ultimately a sequential set of steps towards a desired outcome.
Within complex systems, these paths often lack the flexibility to adapt to emergent conditions - users acting outside the “designed boundaries”.
Instead of designing explicit paths, APD is oriented towards the design of playgrounds - limited spaces where the boundaries are defined by the mechanics of the system. Within these playgrounds, desire paths will naturally form based on different factors: cost, convenience, bounded rationality, etc.

In this context they are talking about designing user flows. Advocating for thinking about how users may act in non linear ways.

But I think there is something here relevant to the idea of process too.

In an agency setting, we think a lot about process. But there are some contradictions here. Most would agree that users are non linear. We often tear down the marketing funnel for being inadequate and overly linear in a world of infinite touch points. We think about campaigns as ecosystems rather than sequences.

But we seem incapable of letting go of linear when it comes to internal process.

I am going to think more on the matter, but the question I have in my mind now is “how can the agency “process” be more of a playground rather than a path? How do we set up parameters rather than sequences?

limited spaces where the boundaries are defined by the mechanics of the system. Within these playgrounds, desire paths will naturally form based on different factors: cost, convenience, bounded rationality, etc.

What does this look like when applied to the context of creative planning and development?

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It is incredible how often just writing down what you’re trying to say can help clarify things. If there isn’t a bullet point outline of what you’re trying to say, I promise it will end up convoluted.

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Strategy is about simplicity. But there is an irony in the work that is easy to get caught up in.

In pursuit of simplicity, there is almost always a byproduct of complexity.

When you start to focus on something, all the different ways that one thing could come to life suddenly appear. And suddenly, you are left with the complex task of explaining why the one route is better than the rest – when in truth, more often than not any choice is the right choice so long as it is made.

Justifying simplicity can get complex very quick. And the more reasoning you provide, the more rationale, the more opportunities are created for your audience to get lost along the way, get caught up in the weeds or simply disagree.

~~If a brand’s positioning was “beans~~¹~~” when an agency strategist came on to build a creative brief, they might (read: should”) start by pushing what “beans” means.~~²

That’s all to say, while it can be tempting to explore all the possible choices, try to start with just stating what the simplest version of something is.

When we say ,
what we mean is ___.

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There are only 3 kinds of presentations;

The pitch (here’s why we’re special and a mock of an airplane wrapped in brand advertising)
The proposal (here are some things we could do)
The compromise (ok we heard you and changed as little as possible. please say yes)

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Most Briefs are wrong about something. 

The truth is, most briefs are wrong about something. Not completely wrong, but wrong enough that good creative work requires course corrections along the way.

If you can’t admit this, and deliver a brief anyway, you are doomed to become the hurdle rather than the bridge. 

The best strategists understand that creative development is collaborative strategy development. The brief sets the direction, but the work itself reveals what the strategy really needs to be. 

This makes a lot of strategists uncomfortable. It requires admitting that you don't have all the answers upfront. It means being okay with strategic evolution instead of strategic certainty.

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TOOLS and TOYS

STRATSCRAPSlm

In a failed effort to fix my archival blindness, I built a notebooklm notebook with every issues of the newsletter as a source. 49 issues are a source twice, because I uploaded 50, found out that was the limit, deleted one then uploaded a single file with all 192 prior issues in a single file. Computers are dumb.

Anyway, apparently nearly 4 years of writing can be distilled into 4 topics…

https://scrap.cards/

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A big challenge with Strategy is that it –more than any other department– performs in an amphitheater rather than a theater.

You have to play to many audiences at once, and any time you are facing one direction, your back is to someone else.

(note: this reinforces why I like to think of my freelance practice as “forward facing strategy” – I try to work on projects shoulder to shoulder with people rather than treat clients like an audience member. Together, we deliver something to the audience. And if the audience isn’t singular, well, usually those I work with are better equipped to deliver work in an amphitheater than I would be.