In a recent LinkedIn post, John Cutler delves into the often-misunderstood relationship between crafting a business strategy and deploying it effectively throughout an organization. Cutler highlights a common disconnect he’s observed, where the deeply complex discussions involved in strategy formation result in simplified, highly accessible communications for the broader team.
As Cutler explains, the artifacts most commonly associated with strategy in companies are often “massively ‘dumbed down’ articulations of intent, meant to deploy the strategy in a widely accessible, simplified form factor.” This simplification, while sometimes jarring to those involved in the deeper strategic thinking, serves a specific purpose in communication, he suggests.
“The artifacts most people associate with strategy in your company are massively ‘dumbed down’ articulations of intent, meant to deploy the strategy in a widely accessible, simplified form factor.”
The Disconnect Between Deep Strategy and Public Communication
Cutler recounts his own past confusion when hearing about profound strategic discussions involving competitive landscapes and existential threats, only to see them distilled into presentations that appeared geared towards a much less experienced audience. He notes that this communication, while seemingly basic, was often “roughly congruent with those much deeper (and honest, and vulnerable) discussions.”
He shares an anecdote where a CEO explained this approach, stating that the simplified messaging wasn’t intended for strategic thinkers but rather for the least experienced members of the sales team. The goal, according to the CEO, was to make the communication “consumable, inspiring, and memorable.”
“John, frankly, this isn’t for you. It isn’t written for you. You are going to see this and then go out and dig a lot deeper and build a mental model. That slide needs to be consumable, inspiring, and memorable to our least experienced SDR.”
Addressing Skepticism and Alternative Perspectives
Despite understanding the rationale, Cutler expresses personal skepticism, recalling instances where highly capable team members were puzzled by these generic, motivational slides. His bias, he admits, stems from seeing individuals capable of grasping complex strategies being presented with what seemed like superficial content.
However, Cutler acknowledges the validity in the idea that passionate problem-solvers within a company can indeed “fill in the blanks themselves.” These individuals, he suggests, are less concerned with performative messaging and more focused on extracting the necessary information. “They get the information they need,” Cutler states, implying that effective internal communicators can often infer the deeper strategy from simplified outputs.
The Role of Existential Threats and ‘Filling in the Blanks’
Cutler also touches upon the sensitive nature of communicating existential threats. While he personally advocates for transparency, he recognizes the challenge in articulating severe business crises without causing undue alarm or failing to differentiate the severity of various threats. “It can be hard to communicate 6-level existential threats in a way that differentiates them from 9-level existential threats,” he points out.
Ultimately, Cutler concludes that there is a distinct difference between the act of strategy formulation and the process of strategy deployment. The latter often involves decisions about how to communicate the strategy in a way that resonates broadly. This can mean distributing “fairly generic, non-strategic priorities, goals, and messaging in order to galvanize the team.”
“Whatever is going on, you have to accept that there is the job of having a strategy, and then there are a set of decisions around ‘deploying’ that strategy in a way that is broadly resonant and can inform decisions.”
He suggests that for many organizations, this involves channeling deeper strategic decision-making into budgeting and investment choices, while allowing those who are deeply engaged to understand the nuances through more localized, informal communication channels. “And letting the people who care figure things out more locally through small-group transmission,” Cutler adds.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by John Cutler on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on January 19, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →