How many times have you sat in a meeting and heard someone say, "We're not being very strategic" or "We need to approach this more strategically"? If your organization is like most, everyone in the meeting nods wisely, the meeting drones on, people endlessly debate how to approach the situation at hand, and no one is the wiser as to what "strategic" really means. Next time, say this: "Being strategic means consistently making those core directional choices that will best move us toward our hoped-for future. Is this what we're doing?" Everybody talks about strategy, but there is a big gap between discussing strategy and using a practically strategic approach to achieving the business, the career, or the life you most want. In this book, Erika Andersen offers you a step-by-step model and skills for making being strategic a powerful habit of mind and action: • First, get clear about the problem you're trying to solve. • Then, figure out where you're starting from. • Now, envision your "castle on the hill," the future you want to create. • Identify the "trolls under the bridge," the obstacles in your path. • Next, outline the path to the castle: your core strategies and the tactics for implementing them. • Keep updating your strategic roadmap as you move toward your vision. With this model and dozens of real-life examples, will help you approach business—and life—strategically.