- CARTER REPORTS
- Posts
- Rethink The Power Of Your One-Phrase Strategy
Rethink The Power Of Your One-Phrase Strategy
CARTER REPORTS

Insights for Leaders and Teams
Welcome to the first editions of new The Carter Reports! Each week, I will bring you sharp insights, practical strategies, and must-know updates to help your business thrive. Let’s kick things off with a powerful thought: The businesses that will win in 2025 are those that adapt faster than the market changes. Are you ready to stay ahead?
Realize that everything connects to everything else. Put a real strategy together to drive what you’re looking for!
David Paul Carter, The Clarity Guy™
Table of Contents
Rethink The Power Of Your One-Phrase Strategy

I have written about this topic many times in the past! Your one phrase strategy is as important as ever in the midst of our current economy and changing environment, both here and abroad. Is your one phrase strategy powerful and leading your efforts to grow or pivot? This is a good focus for your ongoing planning sessions (you do have them don’t you?). All the best. David
If You Can’t State Your Strategy In A Sentence, You Don’t Have One!
Many companies think they have a strategy, but usually what they have done is focus on steps, goals, and objectives or issues owners and leadership teams often think about. To have an effective sustainable strategy, let’s be clear on what strategy is not.
We may want to grow – but growth is not a strategy.
We may want to go international – but going international is not a strategy.
We may want to improve our businesses – but improvement is not a strategy.
We may want to be more efficient – but efficiency is not a strategy.
We may want to consolidate – but consolidation is not a strategy.
We want to be beat our competitors – but beating our competitors is not a strategy.
These are all steps we can take – they are not strategies. Many companies become fixated on a particular step or objective and consider it to be their strategy. These companies then literally go over the cliff, because people do not know why they are doing those things.
Strategy is all about the competitive advantage you are able to sustain over time. Patrick Lencioni (author of The Advantage) states that strategy in the simplest form is your plan for success. It is a collection of intentional decisions your company makes to give itself the best chance to thrive and differentiate from competitors.
Though I’ve focused my clients for years on the importance of a one-page strategic plan, let me suggest that a precise “one-PHRASE strategy plan” must be your starting point…
Market Pulse
AI-Powered Decision Making is the Future – 2025 is seeing an explosion in AI-driven business tools. From predictive analytics to automated customer interactions, AI is shifting the way companies operate. Have you explored AI-driven solutions for efficiency and growth? Now is the time to experiment.
Exclusive offers
Free Rockefeller Habits Checklist – This Checklist provides the ten most important functions of everyday business that should be on automatic pilot in order for your business to run predictably and consistently. Download Your Checklist
Recommended Resources
Book: "Start With Why" – Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others?
Podcast: "The Future of Work" – Insights from top leaders on navigating workplace transformations.
Tool: Notion – A powerful organizational tool for business owners.
Closing Thought
The best way to predict the future is to create it." – Peter Drucker
This week, take one action that moves your business forward. Small steps lead to big change!
Growth isn’t about massive leaps—it’s about consistent, incremental improvements. Identify one area in your business that could use a boost and implement a small but impactful change.
What’s your biggest business challenge right now? I’d love to hear from you! Also, if you found this valuable, share it with a fellow business owner.
Looking forward to helping you build a thriving business in 2025!
David Paul Carter
The Carter Reports Newsletter
Reply