Strategy that makes decisions easier: Mandy Walker's masterclass cuts through the noise

In a room full of founders at Tamworth on Thursday, October 16, Mandy Walker posed a simple challenge: identify the single problem that most threatens your business. Not the problem all the business gurus tell you that you should fix, but the one that, if ignored, could bring everything undone.

This wasn't another workshop about vision boards or five-year plans. This was about making strategy useful turning it into something that helps you choose what to do tomorrow morning.

The diagnosis that changes everything

Most businesses fix symptoms while the real problem actually just gets worse. Mandy flipped this pattern by introducing a framework that forces clarity: Diagnosis → Approach → Actions. Until you're honest about the diagnosis, she argued, every action is just expensive guesswork.

Participants mapped their current bottlenecks, then did the hard work of naming the one obstacle that genuinely threatened their business. For some, it was cash flow masquerading as a marketing problem. For others, it was capacity dressed up as a sales issue. The conversations were frank, sometimes uncomfortable, and exactly what was needed.

Beyond the endless to-do list

"Strategy is not a to-do list." Mandy drew a clear line between motion and progress, between being busy and building advantage. The group worked to create a guiding policy for the next 12 months that was unique to their business… a simple statement that would make every subsequent decision easier.

From there, the choices became clearer: what to start, what to stop, and what to streamline. One participant realised they'd been pouring energy into three different customer segments when their real opportunity lay in serving one exceptionally well. Another saw that their "growth strategy" was diluting what made them valuable in the first place.

Making better calls with a sharper lens

Templates and "best practice" only take you so far. Mandy challenged the group to test every piece of outside advice against three filters: their current stage, their actual capacity, and their specific market. The goal wasn't to reject input but to stop outsourcing their thinking.

This resonated particularly with founders who'd been following playbooks written for different contexts. A retail founder stopped trying to replicate a tech startup's growth model. A service provider realised the industry "must-haves" were actually optional for their particular customers.

From insight to action

By the end of the session each participant had transformed their diagnosis into something tangible: a short, working plan with a handful of concrete actions designed to create advantage now, not someday. These weren't wish lists or ambitious projections but more so specific moves they could make the next morning.

Why this approach matters

Founders can stay busy for months and still feel stuck, mistaking activity for progress. This masterclass created the space to step back, identify what actually matters, and choose a path that fits the business as it is today, not simply as they wish it was or as others think it should be.

It's also a perfect example of how UNE SRI programs work: practical, collaborative, and built for immediate action.

What participants took home

First, a clear diagnosis of the core problem worth solving now – and not the surface issue, but the root cause that, once addressed, makes other problems smaller or irrelevant.

Second, a guiding policy linking long-term aims to next-12-month choices. Simple enough to remember, specific enough to guide decisions, flexible enough to evolve.

Third, a short action set that builds momentum without adding clutter. Real moves, not busy work that lead to real progress.

As one founder noted on their way out: "I've been to strategy sessions that left me inspired but confused. This one left me clear. I know exactly what I'm doing tomorrow, and more importantly, what I'm not doing."

This workshop was delivered through funding from the Boosting Business Innovation Program (BBIP) via Investment NSW. BBIP supports regional incubators like UNE SRI to deliver programs, workshops, and capability-building initiatives that help founders start and grow innovative businesses across regional NSW. We're grateful for their continued investment in our region's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

UNE SMART Region Incubator runs regular workshops to help founders build the skills they need to start, grow, and thrive. Want to know when the next one's on? Check out our events page or sign up to our e-news.