Winning Strategy for Leadership Teams in the Philippines
Most teams already do strategic planning. But ask, “How exactly are we trying to win?” and you’ll get vague answers—or different ones.
I help CEOs and leadership teams make the real choices and trade-offs—then turn those choices into Monday behavior.
No strategy theater. Just a clear Winning Play + a 90-day execution rhythm.
20 minutes. We’ll clarify the winning problem and the next best step.
The Real Reason Strategy Retreats Don’t Stick
Most strategy retreats don’t fail because the team is “not smart.”
They fail because the retreat produces a document… not a new Monday.
You leave the hotel with a plan.
Then you come back to the office and the old system wins:
- urgent messages
- recurring meetings
- “pwede rin” priorities
- decisions that never get finished
Wala na—laglag na.
A quick scene you’ve seen before
Friday afternoon. The team is on a high.
“Solid ‘to. Finally aligned.”
Monday morning. A big client calls. A fire erupts. Someone says, “We need to adjust.”
By Tuesday, the “strategy” is a slide deck no one opens.
Not because people don’t care.
Because nothing in the retreat changed how work actually runs.
Strategy is not a plan. It’s a pattern.
Strategy is the set of choices your team repeats when pressure hits.
It lives in:
- what you say no to
- what you prioritize when everything is important
- how fast you decide
- how you review progress (weekly, not quarterly)
- how you handle trade-offs without drama
The real job of a strategy session
Not to make leaders feel good.
But to create shifts that hold:
Identity → “We are a focused team, not a reactive team.”
Mindset → “We trade off. We don’t collect priorities.”
Behavior → “We decide, we commit, we follow through.”
Habits → Weekly cadence that protects focus.
Culture → Clarity becomes normal—aligned to the strategy, not the loudest voice.
If it doesn’t change Monday, it’s not strategy yet.
That’s why our work is built around three moves:
- DECIDE — when the room is blurry and priorities compete
- DESIGN — when you have direction but execution is messy
- DRIVE — when you drift every quarter and need a rhythm that holds
Your retreat shouldn’t end with “next steps.”
It should end with a new operating cadence your team can actually follow.
Decide. Design. Drive.
Three different moments. Three different moves.
You don’t come to a strategy session because you’re bored.
You come because something feels off:
The team is busy, but direction isn’t clean.
The plan is thick, but choices aren’t clear.
The quarter moves, and focus drifts.
So we work in three moves.
20 minutes. If we’re not a fit, I’ll tell you.
Signals You’re in the Right Place
I’ve been running strategy and leadership programs in the Philippines since 2004. Based in BGC (Taguig). Most work happens across Metro Manila and CALABARZON.
Teams I usually work with
- CEOs and leadership teams who feel busy but blurry
- Organizations tired of “strategy theater”
- Teams who want decisions to show up on Monday—not just in slides
What teams typically walk away with
- Fewer priorities. A real “not now” list.
- Clear choices written in plain language—so everyone can repeat them.
- A weekly rhythm that protects the strategy from the quarter.
If any of these sound familiar, we should talk
- “We have a plan, but we’re not making hard choices.”
- “Everything is urgent, so nothing is protected.”
- “We meet a lot… but we don’t decide.”
How We Work Together: From Decision to Momentum
Most leadership teams don’t have a planning problem.
They have a sequence problem.
They jump to action before they’ve made real choices. Then Monday comes… and the room goes back to “pwede rin.”
Here’s the simple flow we use to make strategy real.
Step 1: Clarify the real problem (20-minute Discovery Session)
We get clear on what’s happening right now:
- Choices aren’t clear → everyone has a different version of “the strategy”
- Choices are clear, but execution is messy → too many priorities, no protected focus
- The plan exists, but it keeps drifting → the quarter wins, the strategy loses
Step 2: Make the right move (Decide / Design / Drive)
DECIDE — Bold Bets™ (2 days)
When you need the hard calls: where to play, how to win, what to stop doing.
DESIGN — Game Plan™ (2 days)
When the direction is set and you need a plan managers can actually run.
DRIVE — Strategy Rhythm™ (quarterly / ongoing)
When you need a cadence that keeps priorities protected and decisions moving.
Step 3: Keep it alive (90 days, then quarterly re-decisions)
Strategy shouldn’t disappear after the offsite.
So we install a simple rhythm—weekly and monthly routines, then quarterly reviews—so your Winning Play keeps showing up in:
- leadership meetings
- budgets and priorities
- what teams say “yes” and “no” to
Where you can enter
You don’t have to start at the beginning.
- If you already have clear strategy, start with Game Plan™.
- If you already have a plan but it’s not moving, start with Strategy Rhythm™.
- If the room is still fuzzy, start with Bold Bets™.
Optional: Brief your team before we talk
If you need something forwardable for your CEO, HR, or leadership team:
Download the Workshop Brief (PDF)
What This Looks Like in the Room
In one BPO, the leadership team thought they needed “strategic planning.”
What they actually needed was a stress test.
So we didn’t start with a one-year plan.
We started with the five Play-to-Win choices.
They broke into groups and wrote their answers—clear, bold, specific.
Then we did something most strategy sessions never do:
We made them pitch their choices.
Not to impress.
To see if the choices could survive pressure.
Each table had roles.
One person was the devil’s advocate.
One was the ROI reviewer.
One was the integrator (the “how will this work across teams?” person).
One was the innovator (the “what if we flipped the game?” person).
Then the pitching started.
Leaders presented their answers to the five questions.
And the room pushed back.
“Where will we play? Be specific.”
“How will we win? What makes that believable?”
“What capability must we build—really?”
“What system must change on Monday?”
By the third round, something shifted.
Their language got sharper.
Their trade-offs became clearer.
And their “strategy” stopped being a deck—and became a decision.
When the Team Did a Pre-Mortem
In a political campaign organization, the challenge was different.
They already had a direction.
But everyone felt the same fear:
“What if this fails and we don’t see it coming?”
So we ran a pre-mortem.
We acted like it was three months later—and the campaign had lost momentum.
Then we asked: Why?
Not as blame.
As preparation.
They surfaced the real threats: ego battles, message drift, volunteer fatigue, slow decisions, unclear ownership.
Then we linked those risks back to the five choices—and tightened them.
Because strategy isn’t just choosing a path.
It’s choosing a path that can survive reality.
FAQ
How long are the sessions?
Most teams start with a 2-day workshop (DECIDE or DESIGN).
DRIVE is usually a quarterly rhythm with monthly check-ins—depending on what you need.
Where do you deliver these strategy workshops?
Base is BGC (Taguig).
Most sessions are delivered across Metro Manila and CALABARZON.
I also deliver in major cities in the Philippines (I’ve been doing this since 2004).
Do we need to do an offsite?
Not required. We can run this in your office, in a hotel function room, or in a retreat venue—whatever helps your team think clearly and decide well.
Who should attend?
Your core leadership team—the people who own priorities, budgets, and decisions.
If key decision-makers aren’t in the room, strategy becomes “recommendation,” not commitment.
How many people can join?
Best range: 6–18 leaders for DECIDE / DESIGN.
If you have a bigger group, we design breakouts so decisions stay tight and accountable.
What do we leave with?
Not a deck. You leave with written decisions, a one-page game plan, and a 90-day rhythm—plus the meeting scripts to keep it alive on Monday.
What does it cost?
Pricing depends on team size, location, and scope. Book a Strategy Discovery Session and I’ll recommend the simplest package that fits what you need.
What happens after the workshop?
We install the Strategy Rhythm—weekly focus, monthly learning, quarterly re-decide—so execution doesn’t fade after the offsite.
About Jef Menguin
I help leaders make better choices, not just better plans.
My name is Jef Menguin. I live and work in the Philippines. People call me when they want to talk about strategic planning, but they don’t want another boring hotel seminar.
I work as a strategy consultant in the Philippines. That simply means I help you and your team decide how you want to win, not just what you want to do next year. We use clear questions, simple words, and real stories.
I still run what others might call a strategic planning workshop. The difference is this: we don’t rush to fill up templates. We slow down to agree on the game you’re playing and the few moves that really matter.
From there, I design strategy experiences. Your leaders talk, argue, and align. Managers leave knowing, “This is how we will win, and this is my part in it.” People on the ground can feel the shift, not just see new posters.
If you bring me in, you won’t get a thick report that sleeps on a shelf. You’ll get conversations that change minds, choices that focus effort, and a simple rhythm to help your team keep playing to win.
Want to explore first?
If you’re not ready to book yet, start with the Strategy Library—short articles that help you think clearly, choose faster, and show up on Monday with a better plan.