Sing. Slay. Strategy.

Lately, the soundtrack in my house has been dominated by one thing: K-Pop Demon Hunters.

If you haven’t seen it, it’s a Netflix animated film about a K-pop girl group that releases chart topping hits while also fighting (literal) demons that are threatening the world (and their fans).Their voices don’t just entertain, they protect. Each harmony strengthens a magical barrier that keeps the world safe.

It’s high-stakes. It’s glittery. And, strangely… it feels a lot like strategy work.

Not the kind that gets printed and promptly forgotten, but the kind that lives in a team’s bones. The kind that starts with purpose, moves through contradictions, and (if we’re lucky) lands in real alignment. Strategy that breathes, adapts, and gives people something to rally around.

Somewhere between the fifth and fiftieth listen (parenting will do that to you), I realized: this is exactly how I think about strategic planning. Less Gantt chart, more comeback tour. Less checkboxes, more clarity. And maybe even some team-building along the way.

Conversations in progress

What do demon-fighting harmonies and strategic clarity have in common? A surprising amount, it turns out.

In my latest Substack post, I share what K-Pop Demon Hunters reminded me about purpose, tension, and the kind of strategy that actually moves. It’s a love letter to values-driven planning, aligned action, and the messy middle we often rush to skip.

If you’re rethinking how your team approaches change, this one’s for you.

Finding the rhythm of strategy

One of the frameworks I return to again and again in my facilitation practice is the Transformational Strategy spiral from the Canadian Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA Canada).

It doesn’t start with a to-do list. It starts with what matters most: purpose, values, and a deep sense of why. From there, it moves outward: spiraling through vision, contradictions, strategies, and aligned action.

Like any good story (or K-pop anthem), it arcs through tension and breakthrough. Not in a straight line, but in cycles. Not as a rigid plan, but as a living process.

Because the truth is, strategy isn’t something you “set and forget.” It’s something you revisit, refine, and realign as the world shifts.

The spiral holds space for that. It invites clarity without perfection. Movement without burnout. It makes room for bold vision and recognition of obstacles; for naming what’s in the way, not just what’s ideal.

And just like Huntr/x (our fictional band of demon-slaying pop stars), the breakthrough often comes not from doing more BUT from remembering who you are.

Your purpose. Your people. The harmony between the two.

That’s the core of strategy work that lasts: not just big plans, but shared alignment. A beat you can return to, together.

Thinking with our hands

Good strategy work isn’t just about logic. It’s about connection. About finding ways to surface the insights that don’t always make it onto flipcharts or slide decks.

That’s where LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® comes in.

Over the past year, I’ve been integrating this method into more and more of my work — with teams navigating change, leaders shaping culture, and organizations working through what’s next.

It’s not just play (though it is fun). It’s structure. It’s systems thinking. It’s story.

Using simple bricks and a proven process, groups build 3D models to express ideas, map challenges, and explore metaphors that help them make sense of complexity, together. It’s ideal for teams who are stuck in abstract thinking, navigating tension, or holding different kinds of power or expertise.

And it works especially well in strategy and culture conversations, where we’re often trying to name the invisible: shared beliefs, core values, patterns, or assumptions that shape how people show up and work together.

Because when you can see your thinking? You can work with it.

That’s the real power of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®: it moves ideas from inside our heads to in the middle of the room, where everyone can see, shape, and build on them.

It’s one of the many ways we help make strategy less about a document, and more about dialogue. Alignment. Meaningful momentum.

Curious what that might look like for your team? Hit reply to this email and let’s talk!

Conversation starters

This month, I’ve been thinking about how strategy actually comes to life — not just in boardrooms or binders, but in the rooms where we wrestle with big, sticky, complex questions. The ones that aren’t tidy. The ones that ask us to bring our full selves to the conversation.

So here are a few questions I’m carrying; and offering to you or your team, if you’re in a season of shifting, building, or realigning:

• What do we want to be known for… not just in what we do, but in how we do it?

• Where are we moving in harmony… and where are we hitting dissonance?

• What are we pretending not to know?

• What’s been holding us back? and what’s ready to be let go?

Whether you're building something new or tending to something established, these are the kinds of questions that can help re-center the work and reconnect the people doing it.

And if you ever want a thought partner to help shape those conversations, I’m always up for a chat.

A final thought

Here’s what I know: good strategy is relational. It’s not just about goals; it’s about trust, rhythm, and the stories we choose to tell about who we are and where we’re going.

Whether I’m facilitating with LEGO bricks, building out long-range plans, or helping a team name what really matters, I keep coming back to this truth:

The strongest strategies don’t start with answers. They start with connection.

Thanks for being here, and for doing the kind of work that makes room for both clarity and complexity. We’re building something real — and I’m so glad to be building it alongside folks like you.

Until next time,
Lindsay