Methodology Reference

How Stratafy Compares to Other Frameworks

What each framework covers, what it misses, and why strategic infrastructure fills the gaps

If you use OKRs, EOS, Scaling Up, or Balanced Scorecard, the Stratafy methodology is not a replacement. It is the infrastructure layer underneath — the connective tissue that makes those frameworks work at scale.

Every popular strategy framework solves part of the problem well. None solves all of it. The gaps are not flaws in the frameworks — they are the boundaries of what any single framework was designed to address. Stratafy fills those gaps by providing the structural foundation, intelligence layers, and continuous feedback loops that these frameworks assume but don't provide.

OKRs

Objectives and Key Results — Intel (Andy Grove), popularised by Google Learn more

A goal-setting system where Objectives define what you want to achieve and Key Results define how you measure progress. Typically set quarterly.

What Maps to Stratafy

ObjectivesObjectives
Key ResultsKey Results / Metrics
Projects (loosely)Initiatives

What's Missing

  • No foundation layer — OKRs don't define the identity, values, or beliefs they should trace to
  • No strategy hierarchy — objectives float without structural connection to a strategic logic
  • No intelligence layers — no systematic tracking of risks, assumptions, or decisions
  • No alignment scanning — drift between OKRs and actual strategy goes undetected
  • No feedback loops — quarterly reviews replace continuous learning

EOS / Traction

Entrepreneurial Operating System — Gino Wickman Learn more

A complete business management system built around six key components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction. Uses a V/TO (Vision/Traction Organizer) and quarterly Rocks.

What Maps to Stratafy

V/TO (Core Values, Core Focus, 10-Year Target)Foundation (Mission, Vision, Values)
3-Year Picture, 1-Year PlanStrategy
Rocks (90-day priorities)Initiatives
ScorecardMetrics

What's Missing

  • No beliefs or principles — the identity layer is incomplete
  • No strategy hierarchy — the jump from vision to rocks skips the strategic logic
  • No intelligence layers — issues lists are unstructured and lack risk/assumption tracking
  • No alignment scanning — coherence between layers is assumed, not measured
  • No AI readiness — strategy lives in meetings and spreadsheets, not queryable infrastructure
  • No continuous feedback — quarterly pulse replaces continuous learning

Scaling Up

Scaling Up / Rockefeller Habits — Verne Harnish Learn more

A growth methodology built around four decisions: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. Uses One-Page Strategic Plans, BHAGs, and quarterly/annual planning rhythms.

What Maps to Stratafy

BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)Foundation (Vision)
Core ValuesFoundation (Values)
Brand Promise, DifferentiatorsStrategy
3-5 Year Targets, Annual GoalsObjectives
Rocks / PrioritiesInitiatives
KPIs, Critical NumbersMetrics

What's Missing

  • No beliefs — strategic premises remain implicit and untested
  • No intelligence layers — risks and assumptions are discussed but not systematically tracked
  • No decision tracking — the reasoning behind strategic choices is lost between planning cycles
  • No alignment scanning — the One-Page Plan connects layers visually but doesn't detect drift
  • No external intelligence — no structured radar for market signals
  • No AI readiness — the One-Page Plan is a document, not infrastructure

Balanced Scorecard

Balanced Scorecard / Strategy Maps — Kaplan & Norton Learn more

A performance management framework that measures strategy across four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning & Growth. Uses strategy maps to visualise cause-and-effect relationships.

What Maps to Stratafy

Strategy Map (cause-and-effect chains)Strategy hierarchy
Strategic Objectives (across four perspectives)Objectives
Measures, TargetsMetrics
Strategic InitiativesInitiatives

What's Missing

  • No foundation layer — starts at strategy, missing identity infrastructure
  • No intelligence layers — assumptions behind cause-and-effect chains go untested
  • No decision tracking — why specific measures were chosen is not recorded
  • No external intelligence — internally focused, no radar capability
  • No continuous feedback — reporting cadence replaces real-time learning
  • No AI readiness — strategy maps are visual artifacts, not queryable data
  • No collaborative building — designed for top-down cascade, not co-working

The Common Pattern

Every framework above shares the same structural gaps:

Strategy lives in documents

One-Page Plans, V/TOs, strategy maps, and OKR spreadsheets are all documents. They cannot be queried, consumed by AI, or updated in real time. They are snapshots that age the moment they are written.

Intelligence is implicit

Every framework assumes that risks are being managed, assumptions are being tested, and decisions are being recorded. None provides the structure to actually do this systematically. The intelligence layers are left to chance.

Learning is periodic

Quarterly planning, annual reviews, weekly meetings — these are all periodic. In an environment where AI agents act continuously and markets move in real time, periodic learning creates structural lag that compounds into strategic drift.

Built for humans alone

These frameworks were designed before AI agents became a reality. They assume strategy is consumed by humans in meetings. They have no concept of machine-readable strategy, collaborative building with AI, or strategic context for autonomous agents.

What Strategic Infrastructure Adds

The Stratafy methodology does not replace these frameworks. It provides the layer they all assume exists but don't build. Your OKRs, Rocks, and scorecards work better when they sit on top of infrastructure that provides:

Foundation

Mission, vision, values, beliefs, principles

Strategy hierarchy

Corporate, functional, and sub-strategies with traceability

Initiatives

Strategic, tactical, and operational with strategy linkage

Objectives & Metrics

OKRs, milestones, leading/lagging indicators

Intelligence layers

Risks, assumptions, decisions, insights, radar

Alignment scanning

Five directional lenses detecting drift

Perspective reviews

Functional stress-testing across eight lenses

Feedback loops

Continuous learning that compounds

Human-AI co-working

Collaborative building and maintenance

Machine-readable

API-accessible, queryable by AI agents via MCP

These frameworks are execution tools. Stratafy is the strategic infrastructure that makes them work at scale — providing the context, intelligence, and continuous learning they were never designed to deliver.

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