STRATEGYWeeks to result

The Tribal Strategy Map

A five-component strategic planning process that begins with values and noble cause, then moves t...

strategic planningtribal strategyvalues-based strategyorganizational effectivenessexecutionmilitary strategy
Problem it solves

be honest about asset gaps"]

Best for

["Stage Four tribes ready to channel their cultural energy into strategic execution","Leaders whose strategies keep failing because people are not fully committed to implementation","Organizations tired of strategic plans that sit on shelves","Teams seeking alignment between their values and their work","Start-ups that need to be honest about asset gaps"]

Not ideal for

["Organizations with dominant Stage Two culture where people will not engage in strategic discussion","Leaders who want to dictate strategy without tribal input","Groups that have not yet done the values and noble cause discovery work"]

Overview

Why this framework exists

The Tribal Strategy Map integrates values-based culture with strategic planning through five interconnected components arranged in a circular model. At the center are Core Values and Noble Cause, which provide the foundation and compass for all strategic activity. Moving outward, the tribe works through three sequential conversations: Outcomes (what we want, stated as present-state successes rather than future goals), Assets (what we have, including physical resources, talent, networks, brand, culture, and 'common ground' with external stakeholders), and Behaviors (what we will do, stated as specific actionable steps). Three test questions link these components: (1) Do we have enough assets for the outcomes? (2) Do we have enough assets for the behaviors? (3) Will the behaviors accomplish the outcomes? When any test question yields a 'no,' the tribe constructs an interim strategy to build the missing assets before returning to the original plan. The process also supports cascading strategies where high-level behaviors become outcomes for the next level, and lower-level insights cascade upward, creating a networked strategic architecture. The critical innovation is the distinction between outcomes and goals: an outcome is a present state of success that morphs into bigger victories (like Carl Lewis describing a race as already won before it started), while a goal implies current failure that will end when the goal is achieved.

Core principles

7 total
  1. Strategy begins with values and noble cause, not with market analysis; people will implement a strategy only if it connects to what they care about
  2. The three conversations (outcomes, assets, behaviors) must be kept separate; mixing them produces confusion and poor strategy
  3. An outcome is not a goal: goals imply present failure, while outcomes frame success as a present state that evolves over time
  4. The first test question (enough assets for outcomes?) is the most critical strategic checkpoint; proceeding without sufficient assets is the most common cause of strategic failure
  5. Interim strategies are not failures; they are the disciplined response to asset gaps that most entrepreneurs and executives ignore
  6. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy; strategies should include at least two behavioral paths to each critical outcome
  7. Strategies cascade both down and up through the organization; front-line tribes often have the best information for top-tier strategy

Steps

7 steps
  1. Establish Values and Noble Cause
    Establish Values and Noble Cause
  2. Set Outcomes (What Do We Want?)
    Set Outcomes (What Do We Want?)
  3. Identify Assets (What Do We Have?)
    Identify Assets (What Do We Have?)
  4. Test Question 1: Enough Assets for Outcomes?
    Test Question 1: Enough Assets for Outcomes?
  5. Define Behaviors (What Will We Do?)
    Define Behaviors (What Will We Do?)
  6. Test Questions 2 and 3
    Test Questions 2 and 3
  7. Restrategize Every 90 Days
    Restrategize Every 90 Days

Checklist

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Examples

2 cases
Example

Griffin Hospital needed a strategic path from declining community hospital to nationally recognized healthcare innovator.

OutcomeThe tribal strategy process was implemented organically but with discipline. Because the strategy was the tribe's strategy (not management's), people were invested in it. The culture moved to Stage Four both because of and in preparation for the strategy. Griffin achieved national recognition and sustained high performance for years.
Example

Explorati, a start-up gaming company, had a brilliant vision for Improvisational Computing in massively multiplayer games but limited resources and internal tribal conflict.

OutcomeExplorati ran out of cash and morale simultaneously, right after 9/11 dried up investment money. Looking back, Ray acknowledged that an interim strategy -- using existing talent to produce conventional games for revenue while funding R&D -- might have saved the company. The case illustrates what happens when a leader ignores both the tribe's cultural stage and the first test question.

Common mistakes

5 traps
Basing strategy on external environment analysis without starting from tribal values
Even technically correct strategies fail because people are not giving their all. The dot-com era showed that values-driven energy can produce twenty-hour workdays, but ignoring other strategic elements leads to failure when the market turns.
Proceeding with a strategy when the first test question answer is 'no'
Under-resourced strategies depend on everything going well, and things rarely go well. The Explorati case shows how a visionary company ran out of cash because it never built an interim strategy to address its asset gaps.
Mixing the three conversations
When people discuss outcomes, assets, and behaviors simultaneously, the result is confusion. Each conversation has its own 'dialect': outcomes require measurement, assets require exhaustive inventory, and behaviors require specific action planning.
Using goals instead of outcomes
Goals imply present failure ('when we achieve the goal, we will have stopped failing'). This creates crisis management and adrenaline-driven bursts followed by burnout. Outcomes frame success as the present state, sustaining motivation over time.
Not including contrarian voices in Test Question 3
The tribe that developed the plan may be too euphoric to evaluate it fairly. Silencing skeptics leads to groupthink. Attacking naysayers teaches the tribe that it is not safe to disagree, which is as damaging as not asking the test questions at all.

Origin story

How this framework came to be

The strategy model emerged from combining observations of how effective tribal leaders naturally set strategy with insights from military strategy (especially Carl von Clausewitz's On War and Robert Leonhard's The Art of Maneuver) and traditional business strategy (Michael Porter and Peter Drucker). The case study of Jason Ray's Explorati gaming company provided the cautionary tale: a brilliant vision with passionate leadership failed because the tribe's cultural stage was not taken into account and assets were insufficient for the outcomes. The researchers found that strategies fail 70 percent of the time according to studies, and that the primary cause is not bad analysis but failure to engage the tribe. The strategy map codified how successful tribal leaders had been doing it naturally.

Source

Traced to primary
Source · BOOK
Tribal Leadership Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a
Dave Logan, John King, Halee Fischer-Wright · 2008
Open source →

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