Our Favorite Management Tips on Setting Strategy When the Path Is Unclear

Each weekday, in our Management Tip of the Day newsletter, HBR offers tips to help you better manage your team—and yourself. Here is a curated selection of our favorite Management Tips on setting direction when the path isn’t clear.

Find Your Organization’s Strategic Center

Traditional strategic anchors—defensible positions, stable industries, durable physical assets—are losing their power. As markets shift and assumptions break down, deciding where to invest resources gets harder. The solution is to choose an organizing principle, with a clear center, that guides every strategic decision. Here are five options.

Center on the mission. Start by defining the problem you exist to solve. When you organize around a mission, you can pursue new opportunities without losing focus. The key is choosing a problem broad enough to evolve with changing markets but specific enough to guide decisions.

Center on the customer. Build around who you serve and their changing needs. A customer-centered approach can help you move across products, services, and markets while maintaining a clear logic for growth.

Center on technology. Focus on the capabilities you’ve developed and ask where else they create value. This approach works when your expertise transfers across multiple applications and industries.

Center on a regional or national ecosystem. Organize around building a larger system rather than optimizing a single business. This approach works when long-term investments and coordinated development create advantages that competitors struggle to match.

Center on friction erasure. Look for what remains unnecessarily difficult and focus on removing it. As more industries become digital, simplifying complexity can create new opportunities and expand where you compete.

This tip is adapted from “The Power of Strategic Centering,” by Rita McGrath.

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To Increase Resilience, Become an Octopus Organization

Most companies were built for more predictable times, which can make them too inflexible and segmented to thrive in today’s complex, changing environment. It’s time to evolve into an “Octopus Organization”: one that’s adaptive, decentralized, and built for change. Here’s how.

Shift your mindset before your methods. Don’t start with a playbook, framework, or step-by-step plan. Real transformation begins by changing how people think and behave. Let teams closest to the problems drive experimentation, embedding learning into daily work.

Spot and fix what’s holding you back. Recurring issues often stem from organizational “antipatterns”: habits that stifle clarity, ownership, or curiosity. Identify the patterns that drain energy or slow progress, then test targeted experiments to replace them with better systems and behaviors.

Spread change instead of scaling it. Top-down scaling kills local ownership. Instead, create the conditions for ideas and practices to flow organically, pulled from team to team, based on need and local context. When one team’s success is visible and meaningful, others will pull it in and adapt it.

Lead by designing the system. Octopus leaders don’t control—they become architects. Your job is to build environments where others can thrive, clarify purpose, remove friction, and lead with trust.

This tip is adapted from “Become an Octopus Organization,” by Jana Werner and Phil Le-Brun.

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Turn Strategy into Action

A strong strategy only creates value if your organization can act on it. As change accelerates, your advantage comes from building the habits that keep decisions aligned and execution moving. Focus on these three practices.

Challenge your assumptions. Don’t let last year’s priorities determine where you invest today. Regularly question whether your resources still match your biggest opportunities. Evaluate major initiatives as a portfolio rather than one by one so you don’t reject bold moves that strengthen your overall strategy.

Demand precision. Be explicit about what you’re choosing to do—and what you’re choosing to stop doing. Define the assumptions behind your decisions so they can be tested. Clear choices help your team stay aligned, spot problems early, and adjust before small mistakes spread.

Make mobilization continuous. Treat execution as an ongoing capability, not a one-time rollout. Keep priorities, initiatives, and resources visible so you can quickly redirect effort when conditions change. Build routines that help your team adapt continuously instead of waiting for the next planning cycle.

This tip is adapted from How to Ensure Your Company Acts on Your New Strategy,” by Andy West et al.

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Ground Hope in Your Organization’s Reality

In uncertain times, one of your most important responsibilities as a leader is to give people a reason to keep moving forward. But hope doesn’t come from ambitious visions or optimistic promises alone. If your aspirations outpace what people believe is possible, trust erodes. To inspire sustained effort, you need to ground hope in reality—connecting a better future to a credible path for getting there.

Ground the present. Start with an honest assessment of the current reality. Acknowledge uncertainty, constraints, and competing priorities instead of rushing to reassuring answers. Stay connected to how people actually experience the situation through candid conversations and unfiltered feedback.

Set aspiration that fits the moment. Give people a future worth working toward, but make sure it feels attainable. Match your ambition to current conditions. Sometimes that means focusing on the next quarter before talking about the next five years. Define what progress looks like in concrete terms.

Turn hope into action. Hope becomes sustainable when people can see how their efforts lead to results. Clarify responsibilities, outline realistic paths forward, and explain how you’ll adapt as conditions change. When people understand what they can do and why it matters, motivation is more likely to endure.

This tip is adapted from “For Hope to Inspire, It Has to Be Grounded in Organizational Reality,” by Alyson Meister et al.

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Eliminate False Alignment on Your Team

When change efforts stall, the problem often isn’t a lack of strategy—it’s a lack of true alignment. Teams move forward assuming everyone shares the same priorities, only to discover conflicting expectations later. To avoid that trap, focus on creating clarity before execution begins.

Set clear parameters. Define the exact decisions that need to be made, who will make them, and how disagreements will be resolved. Don’t leave room for vague assumptions. Narrow priorities aggressively so your team knows what matters most.

Encourage disagreement early. Early consensus can hide unresolved concerns. Ask leaders to write down what they support, oppose, or feel uncertain about. Invite dissent directly by asking questions like, “What could go wrong with this approach?” You need honest reactions before execution starts.

Debate specifics, not abstractions. Broad goals create the illusion of agreement. Push discussions into details, trade-offs, timelines, and responsibilities. If disagreement exists, say so plainly instead of smoothing it over with vague language.

Formalize the decision. Once agreement is reached, document exactly what was decided and how success will be measured. Make individual commitments explicit to reduce passive resistance later.

Communicate one clear message.text in bold Don’t allow separate versions of the strategy to spread across teams. Deliver a simple, unified explanation to everyone at the same time.

This tip is adapted from “The False Alignment Trap,” by Julia Dhar et al.

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Strengthen Your Strategy Amid AI Disruption

How are chief strategy officers planning for the long term in an era shaped by AI-driven disruption? At HBR’s inaugural Strategy Summit, Sherry Sanger of Penske Transportation Solutions, Jennifer Moll of DTEX Systems, and Maran Nalluswami of Synchrony shared their lessons for making disciplined bets amid volatility.

Stay grounded in customer needs. AI may be reshaping industries, but effective strategies still start with customer problems. Pay close attention to shifts in customer behavior and use new technologies to solve real challenges, not simply to chase trends.

Watch for signals, not predictions. Long-range plans can quickly become outdated. Instead of trying to anticipate every scenario, identify the assumptions that must hold true for your strategy to succeed, and monitor the signals that indicate whether you’re still on the right path.

Tell a story people can act on. Strategy only works when employees understand it. Clearly communicate priorities, explain tradeoffs, and help people see how their work contributes to the broader mission.

Treat focus as a competitive advantage. Most organizations don’t lack ideas—they lack clarity about which ideas matter most. Make deliberate tradeoffs, align resources behind key priorities, and be willing to stop work that no longer supports your goals.

This tip is adapted from the HBR Executive Live Event “When AI Challenges Strategy,” available exclusively to HBR Executive subscribers.

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Use Metaphors to Lead Through Change

Metaphors can make or break your transformation message. They simplify complexity, create emotional connection, and cut through resistance. But not just any metaphor will do. Use these four questions to choose one that sticks.

Which threat are you calming? Strategic change triggers emotional responses tied to status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness. Identify the dominant threat in your organization, then use a metaphor that directly speaks to it.

Is the terrain known or unknown? For familiar challenges, use metaphors that build on existing expertise (like leveling up to “championship level”). For uncharted territory, lean into discovery metaphors (“mapping new territory” or “launching a mission”).

Will the metaphor travel? Avoid culture-specific references. Choose universal concepts that everyone can relate to, like teams, journeys, healing, and exploration. Your metaphor should work across functions, levels, and geographies without needing translation.

Is it easy to recall and share? Transformation is cognitively taxing. Don’t add complexity. Use metaphors that are short, sticky, and emotionally resonant—like “lighthouse” (guiding others), “bridge builders” (connecting teams), or “gardeners” (nurturing growth). If people can’t repeat it, it won’t work.

This tip is adapted from “The Power of Metaphors When Introducing Change Initiatives,” by Tanvi Gautam.

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Build Your Tolerance for Uncertainty

In today’s volatile climate, your ability to lead through uncertainty matters more than ever. Instead of defaulting to rigid planning or fear-based decisions, build your tolerance for ambiguity with these strategies.

Clarify what won’t change. When the future is unclear, ground yourself in core values. Identify what your business stands for—your mission, your customer focus, or your cultural principles—and use those as a compass. Anchors like these make it easier to adapt without losing direction.

Take action to learn, not just to plan. Don’t wait for certainty to act. Instead of perfecting a strategy on paper, prototype quickly and test ideas in real time. Encourage your team to explore side projects or solve low-stakes problems creatively. Fast feedback beats long debates.

Move forward, even in the fog. Uncertainty can trigger paralysis, but don’t mistake discomfort for danger. Keep making progress, even when the destination isn’t visible. Use decision principles to guide next steps, stay flexible, and trust that momentum matters more than clarity early on.

This tip is adapted from “Leaders, It’s Time to Build Your Tolerance for Uncertainty,” by Simone Stolzoff.

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Set Your Change Initiative Up for Success

Leaders often launch change initiatives with the best of intentions but then struggle to achieve their goals. Many fall into a common trap: rushing into one-size-fits-all transformations without understanding who they’re asking to change and why. Here’s how you can set your change initiative up for success.

Diagnose your change type. Departments within your organization have differing needs. Those that face digital disruption likely need a strategy of exploration focused on innovating and taking risks, whereas others would benefit more from an exploitation strategy focused on optimizing existing processes.

Map motivational styles. Understand how team members approach tasks and challenges. Do they focus on potential gains, moving quickly toward solutions? Or do they prioritize avoiding mistakes, taking a more cautious, methodical approach?

Match motivations to initiatives. With a clear understanding of both your change type and the motivational styles of the employees on your teams, strategically assign employees to projects that align with their natural tendencies.

Tailor your change messaging. Keep an eye on employee stress levels, which can reveal when there’s misalignment between your change narrative and employees’ understanding.

Encourage a paradox mindset. You’ll inevitably face situations that call for pursuing contradictory goals simultaneously. Helping employees get comfortable in that zone of contradiction is critical for sustaining change.

This tip is adapted from “3 Reasons Change Initiatives Fail—and How to Ensure Yours Succeeds,” by Nicolas T. Deuschel et al.

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Learn to Lead Better Under Pressure

Pressure reveals how you naturally respond when decisions matter most. During high-stakes moments, your default reactions shape what you notice, how quickly you move, and where your blind spots emerge. Performing well under pressure starts with understanding those patterns and building the flexibility to respond differently when circumstances demand it.

Expand your range. Learn your default response patterns, then deliberately practice alternatives. If you tend to pause, experiment with faster decisions. If you rush into action, force yourself to slow down and assess. More options give you more control.

Adjust in real time. Stressful situations change quickly, so keep checking whether your approach still fits. Ask: Is this reducing confusion? Are we making progress? What is my team experiencing from me?

Use different strengths intentionally. Different situations require different responses. Sometimes you need calm to steady the team and maintain perspective. Other moments call for structure, faster decisions, stronger communication, or creative thinking. Learn which strengths help in which situations so you can respond to what the moment demands—not just what comes naturally.

Share the load. Don’t carry every decision yourself. Build clear processes, rely on trusted people, and create support systems before pressure peaks.

This tip is adapted from “6 Ways Leaders Harness Stress,” by Jon Miller and Drew Keller.

Copyright 2026 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate.

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