The Crux

Financial Times, Best Business Books
Forbes, Best Business Books
The Next Big Idea Club, Best Leadership Books
The Globe & Mail, Best Management Books

“A bracingly direct guide about the pitfalls of strategy, based around a climbing metaphor" (Financial Times)

What passes for strategy in too many businesses, government agencies, and military operations is a toxic mix of wishful thinking and incoherent policies. Richard P. Rumelt’s breakthrough concept is that leaders become effective strategists when they focus on challenges rather than goals, pinpointing the crux of their pivotal challenge—the aspect that is both surmountable and promises the greatest progress—and taking decisive, coherent action to overcome it.

Rumelt defines the essence of the strategist’s skill with vivid storytelling, from how Elon Musk found the crux that propelled the success of SpaceX to how the American military came to grips with the weaknesses of its battle strategy. He teaches that every person and every organization faces multiple challenges; the trick is to concentrate on those that can be solved— the addressable strategic challenges. His concept of a Strategy Foundry™ builds a new way for senior management to construct a strong strategy.