Strategy First: Igor Buinevici’s Pyramid and Mintzberg’s Insight

Igor Buinevici’s Strategy Pyramid visual is a valuable tool for thinking about strategy. It breaks down a company’s strategy into three fundamental layers – Purpose, Strategy, and Execution.  

By clearly defining elements like mission (“Why do we exist?” and vision (“Where do we want to be in the future?”) at the top, then linking them to strategic priorities and finally to concrete initiatives and metrics, this model ensures that every plan is anchored in the organisation’s core purpose.

In essence, it reminds us that effective strategy starts with a clear purpose and vision, and then aligns everything else – from high-level goals to day-to-day operations – to that North Star.

Image: The Strategy Pyramid framework by Igor Buinevici (credit: Igor Buinevici).

This pyramid framework is useful because it keeps leaders focused on all the critical pieces: first articulate your purpose, then develop a strategy, and finally execute it. It’s a simple but powerful visualisation that shows how purpose drives strategy, and strategy drives execution, keeping all levels in sync.

Strategy as the Starting Point (Not the Consequence)

Henry Mintzberg famously observed, “Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: it's starting point.” In other words, strategy isn’t something that just pops out at the end of a planning exercise – it’s the foundation you lay down first.

Planning is then the method by which you implement or execute that strategy, not the source of the strategy itself. Mintzberg emphasises that we should begin with a guiding vision or concept (strategy) and let that drive the planning process, rather than expecting to find our strategy by crunching numbers or following rigid procedures. He even cautioned that an over-reliance on formal planning processes and purely “hard” data can stifle real strategic insight. Truly effective strategies often come from understanding the nuances of your business and environment – the “soft” insights like team experiences, client feedback, and industry trends – which can get lost if you’re too narrowly focused on spreadsheets and checklists.

Thus, Mintzberg’s point is a great reminder: start with a clear strategy, grounded in your purpose and vision, and then use planning as a tool to flesh out the details and make it happen.

From Pyramid to Practice: The Functional Strategy Workshop

Both Igor Buinevici’s pyramid and Mintzberg’s insight drive home a common message: start with why and what (your purpose and strategy) before worrying about how (the detailed plans).

This philosophy is at the heart of FI Consult’s Functional Strategy workshop, a session we host in-person over one or two days, specifically for independent financial planning businesses.

In this workshop, we guide business owners and leaders through those very steps – helping you define your purpose, develop your strategy, and build execution plans that are tailored to your firm’s reality. It’s a collaborative, reflective process (not a lecture or generic template) where we first ensure your mission, values, and vision are clearly articulated, then translate that into a concrete strategic direction, and finally map out practical initiatives to execute that strategy. The goal is to come away not just with a document, but with a shared understanding of where your business is going and how you’ll get there – essentially putting the Strategy Pyramid’s principles into action for your company.

What does this look like in practice? For an independent financial planning firm, it means creating a detailed yet flexible game plan that ties everything together. We work on integrating your people, leadership, processes, and resources into a cohesive strategy. That way, the strategy isn’t abstract – it becomes something your team can live daily.

We focus on making the execution plan practical: establishing clear initiatives and performance indicators (your targets, steps, and KPIs) so you can measure progress and stay on track. Importantly, the strategy we develop with you is tailored – it fits your unique business model and market. This tailored approach ensures your firm can adapt to changing environments and remain competitive and profitable in virtually any scenario.

In short, the Functional Strategy workshop is about turning strategic thinking into action. It takes the high-level ideas (like those in Igor’s pyramid and Mintzberg’s writings) and translates them into a workable plan for your business. The value is not in a flashy one-size-fits-all plan, but in a clear, purpose-driven strategy that you and your team have built together – one that you are confident in executing day to day.

For leaders of financial planning practices, this approach offers a useful perspective. Instead of starting with a long to-do list or an out-of-the-box plan, it encourages you to start with fundamental questions of purpose and direction. Once those are answered, the path to implementation becomes much clearer.

Strategy, in this view, comes first as the guiding star; planning and execution follow as the journey. It’s a mindset that can keep your business both grounded in its core mission and agile in the face of change.

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