Life Strategies

Format: PDF
Page Count: 5 (Not Including Cover)

The sixth and final law is where the whole system touches the ground. The problem was identified, the solution chosen, the purpose established, the vision written, the goals set — and none of it moves until somebody decides what will actually be done. This guide and worksheet are where that decision gets made, and written down where you can be held to it.

WHAT'S INSIDE

The Formula and the Six Laws (reference page)
The complete strategy formula with every term defined, plus the concentric ring model showing how the six laws nest inside one another. Each law contains the one before it. Nothing outward is sound if the center is wrong.

The Law of Objectives (two-page guide)

• The law itself

• The working kitchen

• Objectives must be precise

• Where the word comes from

• Do not confuse this with purpose

• The core principle

• The test of a good objective

Building the Mode of Operation (two-page worksheet)

FORMAT

• 8.5in × 11in, US Letter — prints on standard paper

• 6 pages, print-ready PDF, designed for handwriting

• Law Six of the Six Laws of Strategy

WHO IT'S FOR

Anyone whose plan is sound and whose Monday looks identical to last Monday. Especially strong for teams — the stations table turns a shared goal into named ownership, which is usually the thing quietly missing.

HOW TO USE IT

The test on the guide page is the filter: if your objective names an outcome rather than an action, has no rhythm, has no owner, or can't be answered with a plain did I do it, rewrite it before you start. "Become a writer" fails all four. "Publish one chapter a month" passes.

WORKS BEST WITH

The Law of Goals (Law Five), which supplies the goals this worksheet breaks down. Objectives without goals are just a busy list.

Format: PDF
Page Count: 4 (Not Including Cover)

The fifth of the Six Laws is about setting landmarks that actually guide the journey. Five standards every goal has to survive, three timeframes that give a strategy its pace, and a worksheet that tests your goals instead of just recording them.

WHAT'S INSIDE

The Formula and the Six Laws (reference page)
The complete strategy formula with every term defined, plus the concentric ring model showing how the six laws nest inside one another. Each law contains the one before it. Nothing outward is sound if the center is wrong.

The Law of Goals (guide page)

• The law itself

• Five strategic standards

• Three timeframes

• The core teaching

Setting the Landmarks (two-page worksheet)

FORMAT

• 8.5in × 11in, US Letter — prints on standard paper

• 5 pages, print-ready PDF, designed for handwriting

• Law Five of the Six Laws of Strategy

WHO IT'S FOR

Anyone who sets goals every January and cannot say by March which problem any of them was solving. Also strong for teams and annual planning — the goals table forces every milestone to justify itself against a real problem before it makes the list.

HOW TO USE IT

Question 1 is where this sheet does its real work. Most people have never run a goal through the five standards honestly, and the ones that fail tend to fail on Relevant — they're good goals that belong to somebody else's strategy. Fix them in the right-hand column rather than deleting them.

WORKS BEST WITH

The Law of Vision (Law Four), which supplies the future picture these landmarks are pointing toward, and The Law of Problems, which supplies the problems column.

The fourth of the Six Laws is about seeing the end from the beginning, then writing it plainly enough that other people can carry it with you. A vision kept private is only a preference.

WHAT'S INSIDE

The Formula and the Six Laws (reference page)
The complete strategy formula with every term defined, plus the concentric ring model showing how the six laws nest inside one another. Each law contains the one before it. Nothing outward is sound if the center is wrong.

The Law of Vision (two-page guide)

• The law itself

• Imagination and innovation

• What vision breeds

• Why vision must be shared

• A vision that shaped history

• The order matters

• Make it plain

Seeing the End From the Beginning (two-page worksheet)

FORMAT

• 8.5in × 11in, US Letter — prints on standard paper

• 6 pages, print-ready PDF, designed for handwriting

• Law Four of the Six Laws of Strategy

WHO IT'S FOR

Leaders, founders, ministry and nonprofit teams, and anyone whose team can recite the plan but not the point. Also useful for anyone writing a vision statement who wants something more rigorous than adjectives.

HOW TO USE IT

Question 5 is where this sheet earns its keep. The gap between the picture you just described and your life today is the actual distance your strategy has to cover — and most people have never measured it. Question 6 is the follow-on that separates a vision you reach once from one you can sustain.

WORKS BEST WITH

The Law of Purpose (Law Three), which supplies the purpose this vision is a picture of. Vision without purpose is only a daydream, and this worksheet assumes you've already done that work.

Format: PDF
Page Count: 5 (Not Including Cover)

Most people think they have a purpose. What they usually have is a motive wearing a purpose costume, and the difference doesn't show up until something goes wrong. This guide teaches you to tell them apart, then hands you a nine-question worksheet that strips your reasons down to the one that would survive alone.

WHAT'S INSIDE

The Formula and the Six Laws (reference page)
The complete strategy formula with every term defined, plus the concentric ring model showing how the six laws nest inside one another. Each law contains the one before it. Nothing outward is sound if the center is wrong.

The Law of Purpose (two-page guide)

• The law itself

• Why purpose comes before strategy

• The three dimensions

• Purpose is built into creation

• Purpose → Function → Form

• How to tell real purpose from a good reason

Defining Your Purpose (two-page worksheet)

FORMAT

• 8.5in × 11in, US Letter — prints on standard paper

• 6 pages, print-ready PDF, designed for handwriting

• Law Three of the Six Laws of Strategy

WHO IT'S FOR

Leaders, founders, ministry and nonprofit teams, and anyone who has been busy and productive for a long stretch without being able to say what it was all for. Also useful for organisations writing or rewriting a mission statement — questions 1 through 5 do most of that work.

HOW TO USE IT

Question 5 is the sharp one, and it's the reason to do this on paper rather than in your head. Most people list four or five reasons and discover that only one of them would hold if the others stopped being true. That one is the purpose. The rest were support beams.

WORKS BEST WITH

The Law of Problems and The Law of Solutions, which supply the root cause and chosen solution this law gives a reason to.

Format: PDF
Page Count: 5 (Not Including Cover)

The second of the Six Laws is about discovering the right solution rather than guessing at one. This guide covers how solutions are actually found, why every one of them has a weakness, and the failure mode that catches careful people: analysis becoming a substitute for the decision. Then a two-page worksheet walks a real solution all the way to commitment.

WHAT'S INSIDE

The Formula and the Six Laws (reference page)
The complete strategy formula with every term defined, plus the concentric ring model showing how the six laws nest inside one another. Each law contains the one before it. Nothing outward is sound if the center is wrong.

The Law of Solutions (two-page guide)

• The law itself

• What math really teaches us

• What effective problem-solving actually is

• Every solution has a weakness

• The cost of the wrong choice

• Insight without action solves nothing

• Three checks before you commit

Finding the Right Solution (two-page worksheet)

FORMAT

• 8.5in × 11in, US Letter — prints on standard paper

• 5 pages, print-ready PDF, designed for handwriting

• Law Two of the Six Laws of Strategy

WHO IT'S FOR

Anyone who keeps choosing solutions that seem sound and then break in month three. Also valuable for teams — the two tables turn "I have a bad feeling about this" into a specific, discussable point of failure.

HOW TO USE IT

This sheet assumes you already have a root cause. Carry it forward from The Law of Problems and write it in the box at the top. Do not solve a different problem than the one you identified — that substitution is the single most common way this law gets broken.

WORKS BEST WITH

The Law of Problems (Law One), which produces the input this worksheet requires, and The Principle of Strategy, Parts 1–3.

Format: PDF
Page Count: 5 (Not Including Cover)

The first of the Six Laws is about seeing clearly before you attempt to fix anything. This guide teaches you to separate surface causes from the one underneath that actually controls the outcome, then gives you a two-page worksheet to run a real problem through — one you're facing right now, not a hypothetical one.

WHAT'S INSIDE

The Formula and the Six Laws (reference page)
The complete strategy formula with every term defined, plus the concentric ring model showing how the six laws nest inside one another. Each law contains the one before it. Nothing outward is sound if the center is wrong. Keep this page even after you've worked the sheet.

The Law of Problems (two-page guide)

• The law itself

• Two kinds of factors

• Why problems persist

• The child and the mess

• Three requirements for solving anything

• Four questions that find the root

Working the Problem (two-page worksheet)

FORMAT

• 8.5in × 11in, US Letter — prints on standard paper

• 5 pages, print-ready PDF, designed for handwriting

• Law One of the Six Laws of Strategy

WHO IT'S FOR

Leaders, founders, ministry and nonprofit teams, and anyone who keeps solving the same problem twice. Also strong for team sessions — the contributing-versus-determining distinction gives a group fast, unemotional language for a disagreement about causes.

HOW TO USE IT

Read the guide pages once without a pen. Then pick one real problem — something currently costing you time, money, or peace — and work the sheet all the way through in a single sitting. Allow forty-five minutes. Question 8 is the one most people want to skip, and it's the one that pays.

WORKS BEST WITH

The Principle of Strategy, Parts 1–3, which establish the foundation this law builds on.