The Elite Playbook

Strategy is a disciplined series of choices rooted in clear trade-offs and built on understanding both internal competencies and external competition. Strategic thinking for elite leaders requires categorically distinguishing between operational effectiveness doing things right and true strategy doing the right things.

  • Competitive positions are not found in best practices. They are created by either doing what others do, but more efficiently, or by doing what others cannot. Sustained advantage comes from this separation.
  • Core concepts anchor the discipline. “Adjacency expansion” is disciplined growth by moving into closely related markets only when supported by clear customer and economic insight. “Core competencies” are the roots—collective learning that deliver end-product differentiation and resist imitation.
  • Balanced Scorecard frames strategy execution via four key lenses—Customer, Internal, Innovation, Financial. This provides multidimensional accountability and is a strategic bridge between intention and result.
  • Disruptive innovation occurs when new entrants meet overlooked customer needs at lower cost before gradually moving upmarket. Defending requires recognizing early signals and deploying containment or absorption strategies, not just improving existing operations.
  • Blue Ocean Strategy creates new market space, making competition irrelevant by shifting boundaries and redefining consumer expectations. The alternative, “Big-Bang disruption,” quickly upends an industry by simultaneously being better and more affordable.
  • Five Forces Framework analyzes the profit structure of industries, emphasizing the competitive context—rivalry, new entrants, substitute threats, buyer power, supplier power.
  • Strategic execution is the result of countless decisions, driven by information flow, clear rights, meaningful incentives, and effective structure. The strategy-to-performance gap is closed by making strategy actionable, setting priorities, and embedding tracking and learning.
  • Portfolio approaches see strategy as a set of options, not a fixed plan—leaders make staged decisions under uncertainty, using real options reasoning and continuously deploying and withdrawing resources as volatility plays out.
  • Modern imperatives: Lean startup models favor disciplined experimentation and customer feedback over premature scaling. Platform strategies embrace external ecosystems rather than mere resource accumulation.
  • Purpose and stakeholder-centered strategies move beyond shareholders—linking competitive advantage to broader societal value and integrating purpose directly into strategy for endurance and trust.
  • Transient advantage thinking replaces the fantasy of sustained dominance with agility—amassing portfolios of short-lived advantages and scaling down as soon as the context shifts.

Why People Remember the First and Last Things You Say (and Forget the Rest)

The Power of the Primacy-Recency Effect in Everyday Communication

Imagine walking into a movie 20 minutes late and leaving before the ending.

You’d miss the setup, the plot twist, and the emotional resolution. You might remember some scenes in the middle, but without context or closure, the story won’t stay with you.

That’s exactly how most people experience communication.

They catch the opening. They hear the end. But the middle? It often fades.

This is the Primacy-Recency Effect in action—a simple truth backed by decades of psychology research:

People are far more likely to remember what you say at the beginning and end of any conversation, meeting, or message.

Whether you’re giving a keynote, pitching a product, or just speaking up in a team meeting, this effect is your strategic advantage.

Why It Works: The Brain’s Editing Software

Think of your brain like a video editor. When new information comes in, it highlights the first scene—because that’s when it’s paying close attention, asking:

“Is this worth remembering?”

Then, as time goes on, attention dips. The mind drifts. But right near the end, it perks up again:

“What do I take away from all this?”

That’s why the opening and closing of any message carry disproportionate weight. The middle becomes background noise unless it’s extraordinary.

How to Use This in the Real World

You don’t need to be a psychologist to make this work for you. You just need to structure your message like a sandwich:

  • Top slice (Primacy): Grab attention fast. Tell people why this matters. Give them a reason to care.
  • Filling (Middle): Share your ideas or information—but keep it focused and simple.
  • Bottom slice (Recency): Stick the landing. Make your message memorable. Leave them with a clear takeaway or a strong emotional close.

Let’s look at how that plays out in everyday scenarios:

1. In a Meeting

Don’t start with agenda. Start with tension.

“Here’s the challenge we’re facing.”

“This decision could impact the next 6 months.”

“Let’s get aligned quickly so we can move fast.”

End by locking in what matters.

“So the next step is…”

“Here’s what I need from you…”

“This is where we’re headed.”

2. In an Email

Lead with the point, not the build-up.

“Quick decision needed on X.”

“Wanted your input on Y.”

“Here’s the update we promised.”

Close with clarity.

“Can you confirm by Friday?”

“Let me know if you agree.”

“I’ll follow up Thursday.”

3. In a Presentation

Start with a moment. A stat. A story. A slide that surprises.

The goal? Snap people out of passive listening.

End with one unforgettable idea.

If they remember just one thing, what should it be?

What Elite Communicators Do Differently

Top-tier communicators don’t “wing” their intros and conclusions. They obsess over them. Why?

Because they understand that attention isn’t linear—it’s spiky.

People lean in at the start. They drift. Then they return just in time for the final act.

So they start strong, close clean, and don’t expect the middle to carry the weight alone.

If You Remember Nothing Else, Remember This

Great communication isn’t about saying more—it’s about making the right things stick.

And the best way to do that?

Put your strongest message at the start.

Put your clearest takeaway at the end.

And let the brain do what it naturally does best: remember the bookends.

Because in the end, your audience won’t remember every word.

But they will remember how you began—and how you left them feeling.

So make those moments count.

The 5 Second Rule

Interrupt hesitation with 5-4-3-2-1, then move. Counting backward “activates the prefrontal cortex” and breaks habit loops .As soon as the alarm rings, 5-4-3-2-1 — stand up. No snooze, no debate.
Bias toward action beats motivation. Feelings follow movement, not vice-versa .Schedule the workout first, trust energy will rise after you start.
Everyday courage compounds confidence. Each micro-win proves capability and grows self-belief .Speak up once per meeting: 5-4-3-2-1 unmute, share one insight.
Reframe fear as a five-second decision. Fear surges; the Rule converts it into forward motion .Before hitting “send” on a difficult email, 5-4-3-2-1 click.
Use the Rule as a “starting ritual” to re-code habits. Repetition rewires automatic behavior .Pair 5-4-3-2-1 with a new anchor (e.g., flossing) until it becomes reflexive.