There are as many different opinions about strategy as there are books in the library. “Gather customer feedback, do rapid iterations, test your assumptions.” “Don’t ask your customers because they can only tell you what they know. Instead, be like Disney and imagine what could be.” “Get customer buy-in up front, then design the product.” “Redefine the market on your terms.” “It’s a race and the fastest company wins.” “Avoid the commodity trap.” “Manage the innovator’s dilemma by anticipating market changes.” “Cross the chasm of practical buyers and then scale.” “Harness the wisdom of the crowds for superior insights.” “Leverage your core competencies and stick to your knitting.” Usually, there’s some great wisdom in each strategic philosophy and yet many strategic camps provide conflicting advice.

But what if there was a universal model for doing strategy? Something like an Uber-strategy that encompassed and made sense of all the rest? If there were such a model, then it would shed considerable light on both the right and the wrong kind of strategy. It would explain why some companies seem to easily exploit a market opportunity and other companies struggle. If such a model existed, it would give you a sequence of strategic steps, provide indicators that you’re on or off track, reveal pitfalls along the way, and provide a clear path to strategic success. If the model was robust enough, it could account for conflicting advice from different strategic camps (at least the sound advice) and synthesize it into a cohesive whole.

The surprising thing is that there are universal principles that do just that. And from these, I’m going to give you a strategic model that is just as universal in its application. That is — a successful strategy follows these principles and a doomed one does not.

Where does this model come from? Well, it doesn’t come from the ivory towers of Harvard Business School or even within the battle fields of the Fortune 100. Instead, it comes from a totally different field: evolutionary biology. In fact, Charles Darwin laid out the foundation for this Uber-strategy in 1859 in his masterpiece On the Origin of Species. (And no, it’s not “survival of the fittest.”)

To learn this universal model to strategy, bookmark this page. Then click on each link below in sequence. As you read each section, you’ll build your knowledge of the elements of a successful strategy step by step. Ultimately, you’ll have a powerful new perspective on the next set of strategic steps that face your organization.

The Business Strategy Guide

1. The Goal of Any Strategy
2. The Strategy Pyramid: What’s Behind a Successful Strategy
3. Lifecycle Strategy: How to Tell if You’re Doing it Right
4. Lifecycle Strategy: The 3 Strategic Follies
5. The Stages of the Execution Lifecycle
6. Pre-startup checklist
7. How Square Went Against Popular Strategic Advice and Won