Strategy involves focus and, therefore, choice. And choice means setting aside some goals in favor of others.

The core content of a strategy is a diagnosis of the situation at hand, the creation or identification of a guiding policy for dealing with the critical difficulties, and a set of coherent actions.

In general, strategic leverage arises from a mixture of anticipation, insight into what is most pivotal or critical in a situation, and making a concentrated application of effort.

However, what we do see in the story of Cannae are three aspects of strategy in bold relief, presented in their purest and most essential forms—premeditation, the anticipation of others’ behavior, and the purposeful design of coordinated actions.

Nvidia jumped from nowhere to dominance almost purely with good strategy. Follow the story of Nvidia and you will clearly see the kernel of a good strategy at work: diagnosis, guiding policy, and coherent action. You will also glimpse almost every building block of good strategy: intelligent anticipation, a guiding policy that reduced complexity, the power of design, focus, using advantage, riding a dynamic wave of change, and the important role played by the inertia and disarray of rivals.