Why Most Strategy Fails Before It Starts

🎲 Game theory shows up before strategy kicks in.
Most people don't notice. They're too focused on the plan, not the setup.

But once you see it, it's everywhere:

• A partnership that's mostly posturing
• A deal structured more for symbolism than substance
• A team pretending it's aligned when no one wants to move first
• A deadline that's meant to trigger action, not signal readiness

You think you're negotiating.
They think they're signalling.
And neither of you is naming the game.

🧠 There's a great conversation on the FT Economics Show that walks through all of this in practice—trade negotiations that were less about outcomes and more about narrative positioning, submission theatre, and who blinks first. It's worth a listen not because it's about trade, but because it shows what plays out when power, perception, and unpredictability are driving the agenda—not the policy.

Here's the bit that stuck with me: "It doesn't matter how bad I am at driving if I'm the only one on the road with a tank."

That's the world we operate in more often than we admit.
So the question becomes: how do you move strategically when the board keeps shifting, and not everyone's playing to win the same game you are?

That's not theory. That's the work.

#GameTheory #Strategy #SystemsThinking

What Trump's tariffs deadline has (not) achieved, with Dmitry Grozoubinski — Trump's proposed levies have sown confusion. How should the world respond? (ft.com)