Design and Decide: Balancing Creativity and Commitment

Strategy, like running, is the art of deliberate design — not random effort.

When I first committed to running 12 marathons in 12 months, I quickly realised that enthusiasm was not a plan. I needed to design a system that balanced ambition with recovery, structure with flexibility, and creativity with discipline.

The same holds true for leadership. Big visions and bold goals mean little without design and decision — the twin engines that translate aspiration into action.

The Creative Discipline

Design thinking begins where most plans fail: at the messy intersection of imagination and reality.

In training, this meant experimentation. I tested gear, nutrition, recovery strategies. I planned runs based on climate, travel and work; spacing them so that I could adapt rather than collapse. Every month became a prototype — a test, not a verdict.

This iterative approach mirrors the Frame–Design–Execute rhythm that can be used in the workplace. Frynas & Mellahi describe it as moving from “strategic analysis” to “strategic choice” — balancing creativity with feasibility.

Creativity without constraint leads to chaos. Constraint without creativity leads to stagnation. The design phase is where leaders balance both.

Deciding with Clarity

But design is only half the equation.

Porter reminds us that strategy is fundamentally about choice — deciding what not to do. The decision to exclude is what gives focus its power.

In my marathon year, I declined several tempting runs. Some clashed with recovery cycles; others risked overtraining. The hardest decision was not what to add but what to eliminate.

That discipline applies to leadership: saying no to initiatives that distract, even if they’re appealing. Drucker called it ‘concentration’: the single secret of effectiveness. Strategy, at its heart, is the courage to commit.

If there is one ‘secret’ of effectiveness, it is concentration. Effective executives do first things first and they do one thing at a time - Peter F. Drucker

The Decision Trap

Modern leaders face an abundance of data, options and noise. It’s easy to confuse analysis with clarity. This is the ‘decision trap’: the illusion that more information equals better judgement.

In reality, decisive leaders blend logic with intuition. They experiment early, learn fast and adjust — not because they’re reckless, but because they’ve built feedback into their design.

Cal Newport’s Deep Work reminds us that quality decisions require undisturbed focus. Without deliberate thinking time, leaders make shallow choices that feel safe but lack depth.

Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not – Cal Newport

From Design to Discipline

Once you’ve designed the system and decided the course, discipline takes over. The bridge between vision and execution is repetition — what Aristotle called habit, and what modern neuroscience calls myelination: the strengthening of neural pathways through consistent action.

That’s why ‘design’ and ‘decide’ belong together. Without design, decisions lack context. Without decision, designs remain abstract. Together, they create strategic integrity — the alignment between idea and action.

Closing Reflection

Great leaders are architects of momentum. They design systems that foster creativity, then decide with conviction when it’s time to commit.

In both running and leadership, design creates possibility; decision creates progress.

And once the decision is made, the only thing left to do — is move.