Strategic planning is an oxymoronic term. While vision and strategy are back from the future inquiry, planning is the endeavor to move from today to the future. Though we need both approaches, they are not the same activity and they each require a different mindset. In many companies, strategic effort is not strategic at all. Rather, it is a financial-led, bottom-up planning exercise. In this episode, Aviv analyzes eight inquiries to evaluate your strategic innovation opportunities. Such inquiries explore a range of factors, including differentiated value, sustainability, exciting the imagination of your workforce and aligning with values and brand experience. Finally, Aviv provides actionable advice on how listeners can reflect on their strategic growth opportunities holistically to create the future of their business and unlock the future to which they aspire.

Adam Wray is the founder and CEO of AstrumU, a Seattle-based data science startup that translates educational experiences into economic opportunity. Adam held a variety of senior leadership and founding roles at data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud, and machine learning-focused companies. He was one of the founders and the CEO of Tier 3, a public sector cloud services provider acquired by CenturyLink, one of the largest U.S. enterprise telecommunications companies.
In this episode, Adam and Aviv dive deep, explore the power of building an exceptional culture and, specifically, insights that emerged out of Adam’s experience as CEO. Adam describes his entrepreneurial journey and what inspired him to focus on education. He then reflects on the most impactful lessons he’s learned throughout his career. Finally, Adam outlines what he values above all other ideas and insights and provides sage advice to the audience on leadership and starting a business.