Why should you treat a publicly announced "new strategy" with healthy skepticism?

Because a "strategy" is sometimes just rhetoric or spin — repeating a claim confidently doesn't make it a real, executable plan.

A real strategy involves concrete choices and trade-offs (including what not to do). But the word is often used loosely as a reassuring label — "we have a new strategy" can be communications, not substance. A wry illustration of the trap: Homer Simpson's "if you claim something long enough it becomes true," paired with a 2022 board statement that the company had "stopped the outflow and has a new strategy" — language that sounded decisive without proving anything had actually changed.

Tip: When you hear "we have a new strategy," ask the diagnostic questions: What is it choosing not to do? What concrete tactics implement it? What evidence shows it is working? No answers means it may be a slogan, not a strategy.

Go deeper:

• Acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS (Wikipedia) — the cautionary epilogue: months after a board announced a "new strategy," the bank collapsed and was force-sold in 2023.