Strategy is choosing, not stack-ranking

I’ve been sharing some of my “ten lessons from ten years in business” here on the blog the past couple weeks.  So far it’s included Putting Values First, Putting Yourself First, Two Types of Focus and the Power of Thank You.
Today’s lesson I’ve learned is about what strategy really means.  Many people equate strategy with prioritization.  But the mere act of prioritization is about stack-ranking and doesn’t often include eliminating priorities from the list.
It’s taken me far more than 10 years to not just figure this lesson out (it sounds simple and intuitive) but to also follow it more regularly.
Making a prioritized list is fairly easy.  Put the most important stuff at the top and the less important stuff farther down.  Far more difficult is the act of making a dramatically shorter list.
You don’t do yourself, your team or your business any favors by keeping the strategic to-do list just