Combat strategic complexity by creating a one-page plan. This document connects your highest-level vision and values to tactical quarterly goals in a clear cascade (Vision -> Strategy/KPIs -> Annual Goals -> Quarterly Goals). This simple, accessible artifact ensures universal alignment and clarity on how individual work ladders up.

To be seen as a strategic executor, consistently apply a simple three-step process: 1) Say what you're going to do. 2) Do the work. 3) Say you did it, celebrating the outcome and reminding stakeholders of the original commitment. This loop builds trust and reinforces your strategic capability.

Addressing the human side of strategy is not just about culture. It requires focusing on the 'inside out' perspective by explicitly designing the company's operating model—its core tasks, processes, and collaboration methods—to support and execute strategic choices effectively and consistently.

Leaders' primary blind spots are an over-focus on internal operations ('inside out') while ignoring market realities ('outside in'), and spending too much time on analysis while neglecting the disciplined execution of the chosen strategy. Balancing these internal/external and planning/doing tensions is critical.

Contrary to the popular advice to 'hire great people and get out of their way,' a CEO's job is to identify the three most critical company initiatives. They must then dive deep into the weeds to guarantee their success, as only the CEO has the unique context and authority to unblock them.

The most valuable professionals are neither pure visionaries nor pure executioners; they are "step builders." This means they can understand a high-level strategic vision and then map out the granular, sequential steps required to achieve it. This skill is critical for turning ambitious goals into reality.

Blanc's successful turnaround of Aviva began by divesting eight businesses where they lacked a top-three market position. This freed up capital, reduced debt, and allowed the core, high-scale operations in the UK, Ireland, and Canada to shine, proving that focused scale beats broad but shallow market presence.

The company culture is driven by a weekly mantra: "What is the one thing that you will put unreasonable effort to this week to contribute towards our most important goal?" This framing forces extreme focus and intensity, elevating execution beyond simply working hard on high-priority objectives.

Spreading excellence should not be like applying a thin coat of peanut butter across the whole organization. Instead, create a deep "pocket" of excellence in one team or region, perfecting it there first. That expert group then leads the charge to replicate their success in the next pocket, creating a cascading and more robust rollout.