Episode summary
Episode 366: The Four Big Questions We Should Each Ask Ourselves: Matthew Kentridge on Strategy i...
The Fiftyfaces Podcast
· · 33 min · Guests: Matthew Kentridge
Summary
Matthew Kentridge argues that strategy works best when it is stripped back to the real root causes behind a company’s apparent problems. He says the strategist’s job is to cut through noisy, symptomatic issues and identify the essential challenge, then build a response that is simple, practical, and adaptable as assumptions change.
He traces that view to his early career in South Africa during the transition to democracy, where he learned consulting in an untapped market across mining, chemicals, retail, government, and other sectors. That experience, along with his development economics training, left him skeptical of abstract frameworks and focused instead on work that produces tangible outcomes and visible change.
The conversation also turns to coaching, where Kentridge distinguishes between formal coaching, everyday coaching inside teams, and more personal coaching around life and career decisions. He emphasizes the value of feedback, experimentation, resilience, and self-understanding, and says many people underestimate the range of options open to them. He closes by reflecting on setbacks, the importance of doing work that gives energy, and the freedom to build a life without forcing a single fixed path too early.
Key takeaways
- Matthew Kentridge says good strategy is about finding the real root cause, not cataloguing every symptom an organization reports.
- He argues a five-year strategy is useful, but only if leaders keep revisiting the assumptions underneath it.
- Kentridge says everyday coaching, not just formal programs, can unlock trust, capability, and better performance inside organizations.
- He believes people underestimate their own resilience, range, and ability to experiment before settling on a career path.
- He says many career setbacks become useful once people recognize what gives them energy and redesign their work around it.
Notable quotes
“Strategy should be simple and what I mean by simple is it should get to the heart of what the strategic challenge is that an organization is facing”
“what you have to do as the strategic advisor is find a way to cut through that noise to try and get to essentials”
“There are a lot more options open to you than you think. You have got the space to be creative and to experiment and to test things out”
“I like the delivery side of it. I like the human engagement with clients and teams. I like the intellectual challenge”
“what the hell are you waiting for? Just go down to the sea and start sailing”
How the episode opens
Strategy should be simple and what I mean by simple is it should get to the heart of what the strategic challenge is that an organization is facing. When you start talking to clients or members of their organization, you might hear a huge number of different issues get raised, a huge number of different challenges that an organization needs to be seems to be facing. And what you have to do as the strategic advisor is find a way to cut through that noise to try and get to essentials because what you'll find is that so much of what you hear is really symptomatic.
These are symptoms of bigger issues and getting down just cutting it back layer by layer to get down to what the real root causes might be. That is the the essence of good strategy.
I'm Ethan Devit and welcome to the 50 Faces podcast. A podcast committed to revealing the richness and diversity of the world of investment by focusing on people and their stories. This podcast series is kindly supported by Franklin Templeton and Alvine Capital.
Franklin Templeton is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of investment solutions including mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, wealth management, and technology enabled financial services. Founded in 1947, the firm manages approximately 1.8 trillion in assets under management and serves individual and institutional investors across more than 150 countries. Albine Capital was founded in 2005.
It's European focused private capital advisory and placement agent that provides capital raising services to investment managers from its bases in London and Stockholm. It creates bespoke capital raising programs that blend appropriate investor targeting and sophisticated marketing to deliver a fund raise aligned with institutional expectations. I'm joined today by Matthew Kridge, a strategy consultant with over 30 years experience who is a trustee and adviser and also works as an executive coach.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- strategy
- executive coaching
- four big questions
- inflection points
- keeping strategy simple
Companies and tickers mentioned
- BEN
- Franklin Templeton
- Alvine Capital
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Fiftyfaces Podcast, this episode and its artwork belong to Aoifinn Devitt. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
