Think Strategy Is Just Logic? Think Again
When Facts Fail, What Works Instead?
This is
- your weekly guide and shortcut to mastering emotional intelligence through the power of empathy. I recently wrote about exploring my neurodivergence, and assuring my fellow readers you are not defective.
Strategy. It must be intelligence. Intelligence is logic.
Or is it?
Is it intelligent to sell an investment product to someone who seems distressed about not having enough money to pay their rent? True story - to be told in more detail further on down.
Strategy is more than your thoughts; it is also the feelings at hand. It is beyond the hard facts and ventures into the intangible. While maybe not seen, it can be felt rather than through the streaming logic of your mind.
Have you heard the term change management? If you work in tech, you definitely have. Is change management about just laying out the factual benefits? No, it is about moving hearts and minds to get buy-in.
So goes that strategy in itself is not just the hard data, but rather it is beyond that.
Nods Aren't Buy-In: Read the Room, Not the Deck
The humans you must convince to move a certain way are at the core of every strategy. People, whether direct reports or leaders, cannot be convinced to move a certain way based on logic alone. If logic alone worked, think of all the times someone does something they should not do despite knowing better?
Guilty here. I know I should not have two scoops and stick to one scoop of ice cream (logica), but the emotional part of wanting those extra bites spoonfuls gets in the way.
This is not to say emotion is bad. Emotion guides us with our heart intelligence so we do the right thing, be kind, and cheer ourselves up.
The point is that you cannot just appeal to the logic of the people you are trying to get buy-in from. Nods can be a sign of simple politeness or pressure from being observed, not actual agreement.
To get to that, you must "catch the mood of the room," as described in Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves (p.173). Notice how people are engaged. What is their energy like? What is your gut telling you? Yes, your gut has its own intelligence, not just your brain.
Your PowerPoint deck could be stacked with all the right facts, but it lacks the underlying drive to move your audience into action.
Empathize with your audiences first before digging into the facts. Listen first, then speak. After all, our brains process emotions before we think.
Sorry to interrupt, but a special announcement. Click on the picture to learn more…
If the Timing's Off, the Strategy's Dead on Arrival
Social Awareness Helps You Time and Frame Strategy Wisely
Even the most logical strategic decision can backfire if it's delivered at the wrong moment or in the wrong way. Social awareness means tuning into your team and organization's mood, culture, and unspoken dynamics. Are people burned out from too many shifts in direction? Are cross-functional teams feeling territorial? Launching a strategy without acknowledging these realities is like trying to sail against the wind. Instead, use emotional intelligence to sense the environment and adapt your delivery. Timing and tone aren't just communication tactics—they're strategic levers.
Remember the story I opened with about the financial investment advice being told to the distressed person? The distressed person was me.
I was young and worked as a temp at a sports stadium for the day to make enough money to pay my rent. I was so anxious that I was not opting to buy food at the stadium but rather go with the options we were given for free. Someone approached me to talk about investing. Yes, seriously, it is poor timing for their sales strategy. If they had approached me a year later (when I started investing), I would have been more receptive once I had a stable job.
Your strategy is dead on arrival, no matter how good the facts are or how nicely you present them, if it is at the wrong time.
If you can't get around the timing, think how you can still be an empathy catalyst. What will appeal to their needs and wants? What do they get out of the strategy?
Back to investing - for a 25 year old, retirement seems like a long time a way. I was convinced to start doing it years before that at 21, thinking I was getting "free money" from my employer match. The idea of retirement was too far off to the strategic driver to invest. Even if not immediately useable, the thought of free money was much more convincing.
Logical? No. But it got me investing.
Trust Isn't Built in a PowerPoint
It's the kick-off day for a new implementation. The PowerPoint is front and center in the Zoom meeting. It has 44 slides…yawn.
Do I trust it? No. Why?
I can't see how this implementation will enable me to be better at my job. I can't feel the experience and excitement of the team project manager. I am not sure the features I am looking for even exist.
In preparing for the slide deck, I would like to know if the team took a moment to listen empathically. They are speaking to an audience of highly technical people. We want to see how the sausage is made, so to speak, not the bundled cost savings. We are not he audience that cares about that.
Back to trust: Do we know these people? It would be nice to have met two of the three presenters before, even for a brief introduction. Reaching out to relationship management would go a long way.
What could have been done differently?
If it was me, I would have done a less formal introduction before the big kick-off day and let half the time be dedicated to open questions and conversation. I would make some small talk (yes, annoying) to at least build rapport. I would make sure it was not just slides but more of an engaging conversation,
Strategize with the heart, not just the mind.
No EQ, No Execution
If you want your strategy to do more than gather digital dust, treat emotional intelligence as a core input—not an afterthought. Empathy helps you see around corners. Social awareness enables you to steer with context. Relationship management helps you lead with integrity. A strategy without these is just a document. But with them? It becomes a living, breathing plan people believe in and act on.
I have worked in data analytics for over a decade, most of it in tech—therefore, my first instinct is to use numbers.
The numbers tell a story, but they must be contextualized to the intangible.
The feelings can be overpowering and even illogical. But no matter how irrational, they can still break the highly logical strategy you are attempting to implement.
As part of your professional development goals and excelling in what you do, remember that logic and heart-driven emotion must be considered when driving policy.
Think about the timing. Even 10 minutes later can make all of the difference.
Who is your audience? Are you talking to a creative team like Marketing or a fellow team of engineers?
How can you engage with the five senses rather than just talking to someone? Engaging with a broader scope of senses means more reception.
Do you think your strategy is just logic? If logic and facts were absolute, wouldn't all government policy go smoothly? It doesn't. Appeal to the heart and the mind.
✅ What I’ve been Analyzing this week (reading, watching, listning, etc.)
📖 I’m reading “The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness” by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The concept of oneness was highly relatable.
📰According to this, having high empathy is one of the top 10 signs of having high intelligence.
✍️ I read a post by
on her Substack about the Dark Side of AI Prototyping, and commented on the aspect of human anxiety around AI and new tech. An excellent read, if you want to make headway with new tech in a sustainable manner.Want more on Empathy and Emotional Intelligence to Elevate your career? 📈
I empower💪tech people to elevate their empathy, to accelerate their careers
Great article. Very much resonated and coincides with my experience.
And what you are reading “The courage to be disliked” is a very good and interesting read that offers a hopeful and compelling perspective to live by.
This is so true. The problem is compounded when (as often happens) it's a dominant just-the-facts type CEO presenting the strategy... someone who doesn't have much patience for the messy human stuff. They tend to think everyone in the room has the same personality as them. It's always very far from the truth and this advice is much needed.