This Is Strategy: Make Better Plans (Create a Strategy to Elevate Your Career, Community & Life)

In an era where AI and technological advances push us to move faster than ever, Seth Godin's "This Is Strategy" arrives with a crucial reminder: It doesn't matter how fast you're going if you're going in the wrong direction. This insight alone makes the book worth reading, but Godin offers so much more. What sets this book apart is its nuanced understanding of systems and change. Rather than pushing the typical "hustle harder" narrative, Godin helps readers see and work with the invisible systems that shape our results. His unconventional structure - numbered sections that facilitate ongoing conversations - reflects the book's core message: strategic thinking requires dialogue and perspective-sharing. The book's strength lies in its approach to change and disruption. Using metaphors like surfing ("A useful skill in surfing is picking the right place and time to go surfing."), Godin shows how to spot and leverage opportunities when systems are disrupted. This is particularly valuable as we navigate the AI revolution - it's not about resisting change but understanding how to make it work for us rather than letting it use us. Particularly valuable for: - Leaders seeking to create meaningful change without burning out - Entrepreneurs navigating technological disruption - Anyone feeling pressured to "move faster" without clear direction - Teams wanting to have better strategic conversations The companion Strategy Deck (54 cards with 5 million possible combinations) adds a practical, interactive dimension to the strategic thinking process. Most importantly, this book encourages us to pause and ask essential questions before accelerating: What change do we seek to make? Who are we serving? Are we pushing against the wrong things? In our AI-driven world, these questions matter more than ever. This isn't just another business strategy book - it's a compass for navigating complexity while staying true to your purpose. Whether you're leading a team, running a business, or seeking to make an impact, "This Is Strategy" helps you ensure you're moving fast in the right direction.

. introduces great questions, and ways to think about the systems we find ourselves in. And how to change them.

This is a great book to read. Kinda sets you up for many different things to do with yourself, business etc...

Seth Goden is a wonderful writer he draws you in and challenges your underlying assumptions. Te book can be used for personal or corporate strategy and gives useful rubrics and vignettes to support that effort. Well worth the price.

I'm truly a fan of Seth and have been personally impacted by what I've read in other books. This one is different though. It's a large collection of musings, and it's honestly difficult to read more than one or two at a time and have any sort of reflection. It might have been better published as a daily reader or desk calendar than a book. Not that any one piece is bad, but the presentation isn't working for me. I'll muscle through because I hate not finishing a book, but nothing is really sticking.

Each "chapter" of this book is a page of fortune-cookie style abstract musings about vague concepts. It's okay to wax poetic about your subject if you've also made a clear point, or fostered real insights. This title skips the "point" and wants for you to understand its secrets by deep meditation on its word salad. Let me help you get to the bottom line: word salad is all there is here. Mr. Godin apparently keeps a bedside journal of "deep thoughts" where he writes down personally profound ideas that only have context inside the bubble of his own experience and internal nomenclature. Reading this book, you are reading that journal. No doubt some of the ideas are profound, if only they were clearer or more fully explained. I'm sure you can grok some gesalt of meaning from the patchwork if you really want to try, but who knows if you really understand the author's real intent or meaning. If you want to try to organize a splattered blob of loosely connected undefined terms and metaphors, this is your book. If you'd prefer that the author perform that task, best steer clear. The "Strategy" here appears to be to leverage fame to get away with a minimal effort unfinished work and extract your money without exchanging equivalent value.

If you're wondering whether this book is worth $21, let me save you some time: it absolutely is. I'm only 23 riffs in and my notebook is already filled with game-changing insights. Before buying, I'd recommend listening to a few of Seth Godin's recent podcast appearances – you'll quickly see why his thinking is so valuable. Each "riff" (as he calls these bite-sized chapters) delivers actionable wisdom that you'll return to again and again, making this book less of a purchase and more of an investment in your professional growth. The density of valuable ideas per page is remarkable, and I've already gotten far more value than the cover price.

This book is not laid out like typical books with chapters, but more like with problem sets. The points of the book are scattered throughout in an order that I’m still trying to figure out, but there are lots of real life examples of businesses that have both succeeded and failed. I’m almost halfway through the book and am loving this reading every day in the sauna to help me reflect on my own life strategies. This seems like a book I can go back to over and over for inspiration and to continuously review my own strategies working in systems. I only gave the book a four out of five due to the order of the points and the scattered topics. But it’s still a great read.