It's a common idea. Before you do any execution, do the strategy. Maybe it's too common. Because almost no one follows this simple advice. All too often, a client's project comes up at the execution stage. They've usually dragged their feet for a while, and now they have to execute something: a Web site, a brochure, a newsletter, etc. And, because of the delay, they usually say that there is no time to do any strategy. We must execute, execute, execute! No matter how wrong this approach seems, it's also inevitable. And it's inevitable because the client (or anyone) doesn't really value strategy at all. It's considered a nice-to-have. If we have plenty of time and money, then strategy is fine. But, if not (and when isn't it this way), then let's toss the strategy. So, what really is the problem with skipping the strategy. The danger, simply put, is that it's almost inevitable that the wrong execution will be produced. Without knowing what the strategy would tell us, we always have to guess. And we have to guess so many times that it's almost certain that at some point we will guess incorrectly. And this means that whatever gets produced will need to be re-produced. And that's the real risk. Without a good strategy, the execution will likely be thrown away. Now, isn't strategy worth it?