Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt is one of the better business books I’ve read in a while. The focus of this book is why good strategy is important and how to create that strategy. Rumelt argues that implementing strategy is the central task of a leader.

Most folks confuse strategy with goals. We say “Let’s increase profits” and call it a strategy. That’s a goal, not a strategy. Or we confuse vision with strategy and use a lot of fluffy words. Vision is especially seductive because it is so … well, visionary. It’s big ideas and big dreams.

But strategy is more specific. It’s a response to a change in the marketplace and how to exploit that change. It’s an insight that is reflected by tangible steps. It is also flexible because strategy often has to change. Vision or goals may not change, but strategy can (and often should).

Rumelt is a good writer with clear insights. A professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, he also has background in engineering and has worked at multiple companies in the business world. This gives him stories to tell that are not just theory; they are real world instances of strategies working or not working. That makes the book much more helpful to a practitioner like me.

One of the more personal things in the book was having two people that I know mentioned. It was fun to be reading along and then seeing their names! One of my friends, Mark Zoradi, is well regarded by Rumelt and he quotes Mark about Disney. My other friend doesn’t come off so well because of a business decision he made a couple decades ago (and today my friend would agree with the criticism). I’m not going to mention his name here for obvious reasons!

Anyway, if you are leading an organization — whether for profit or non-profit — this book is very helpful. It has challenged me to rethink my strategy at both Goble Properties and PathLight. I think it will help you too.