Strategic Alignment Discussion Guide

This is a step-by-step story you can use to spark alignment at the leadership level.

How to Use It:

Use the key points as conversation starters and encourage open dialogue. Your goal is to help the team recognize the opportunity in aligning around a shared brand story and how that can accelerate growth. You don’t need to have all the answers right now. This guide helps you uncover the answers your team already holds and creates a shared foundation to build on.

START HERE.

We might be closer to exponential growth than we think.

We’ve got smart people, with good instincts, and we’ve built something valuable.

But if you’ve felt growth is harder than it should be, you’re not alone.

I’ve felt it too.

Growth gets messy when teams drift apart.

As we’ve grown, our strategy has become fragmented.

One version lives in our product portfolio. Another lives on our website and in our marketing assets. Others show up in sales decks and presentations.

Each one makes sense on its own. But they don’t always add up to a clear, consistent whole. And when strategy lives in pieces, alignment becomes optional— and that slows everything down.

This isn’t dysfunction—it’s a natural challenge as we grow. And it’s fixable.

We don’t need more strategy. We need a shared strategy.

When leadership aligns around the same core story, product development is less reactive, marketing knows exactly what to say, and sales gains confidence.

What if brand design was the unifying force?

Not just a logo or tagline. But a shared understanding of who we serve, why we exist, and how we win. What do we want to be known for? How do we express that at every touchpoint? How do we make sure our teams tell the same story?

When we redefine brand, everything starts to click: brand is our communication of value.

It’s not our vibe, a gut feeling, or logo. It’s how clearly, consistently, and compellingly we communicate what we’re worth. We can audit it, align around it, scale it, and tie it directly to revenue. If we’re unclear about the value we create, our brand will show it—loudly

Brand design is how we intentionally structure how value gets communicated. It builds coherence and a shared language for growth.

Value well communicated is value well converted.

So how do we produce this strategic alignment?

We clarify who we’re for and what matters to them, create products and messaging everyone can stand behind, and build tools that help us move forward— not continuously start over.

What might our journey towards strategic alignment look like?

We drive it ourselves.

We lead the process internally—aligning teams through workshops, audits, and iteration.

Most cost-efficient. Full control. Challenge:

Requires significant time, energy, and objectivity. Risk of reinforcing old patterns.

We bring in a consultant.

We partner with an external strategist who works closely with us—bringing structure, clarity, and momentum without taking the reins.

Balanced approach. We stay in control while gaining speed and alignment. Ideal for:

Moving fast with minimal overhead and maximum buy-in across teams.

We engage an agency.

We work with a full-service agency to lead strategy, design, and execution.

Strong creative and operational capacity. Ideal for scaling execution. Tradeoff:

Higher upfront cost and overhead, especially if we still need to establish strategic alignment internally first.

Looking to go deeper on the business value of alignment?

Read the companion article: What is Strategic Alignment?