• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Beyond the Quarter

Beyond the Quarter

Business for humans

  • What we do
    • How we help
    • What our clients say
  • Engage
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Book Club
    • Gatherings
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Values
    • Impact
    • Partners
  • CONTACT
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Where strategy goes to die #8 – A masterpiece of spreadsheets, not humans

Iyas A · Feb 4, 2022 ·

A strategy articulated by the most beautiful and elegant diagram of neatly-fitting geometric shapes is often laid waste by the less elegant actions of totally ungeometrically-shaped and unpredictable objects.

Humans.

The military’s long known this. The noted and successful Prussian general military strategist Von Clausewitz based much of his strategy work on it. (See the post on the excellent book, “The Art of Action“).

Yet I see leadership team after leadership team get so embroiled in their powerpoints and spreadsheets that they start to confuse them for reality.

And then think the strategy was all wrong as soon as they discover that reality doesn’t have bottom-aligned boxes.

We’d do well to remember that the map is not the territory (Alfred Korzybski). That the word is not the thing (Alfred again!). Or that the menu is not the meal (Alan Watts).

The diagrams are useful. The spreadsheets can be useful. But always with the proviso that they are models – not reality nor accurate forecasts of the future.

To get to our destination, the map or strategy is useful (nearly essential, I’d argue). But we need to be constantly sensitive to the humans, the organisational structures and motivations, and emotions as we go. And to remember that especially in matters human, as the Swiss Army proverb goes, “When the terrain disagrees with the map, trust the terrain.”


How we can support you

  1. Join us on a workshop on how to scale your company; create time to focus on the bigger picture; and keep values and purpose at the core. For max 5 CEOs of companies with revenues between £1.5m and £15m.
  2. Subscribe to our Bite-Sized Business Tips - thought snippets for values-centred business leaders. Every few days, a short focussed read on a specific topic of how to lead a company that values both profit and purpose.
  3. Talk to us to explore how we can help you scale your company in the direction you want to take it.

Share this:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Bite Size Business Tips Execution, Leadership, Strategy

Copyright © 2025 · Beyond the Quarter Ltd

  • Privacy and Cookies
  • Get in touch