Ben M. Bartlett is a master strategist, coach and speaker who helps CEOs, business owners, teams and other business leaders to solve their most pressing problems and to excel at work and in life.

Based in his home country of New Zealand, Ben shares his expertise globally.  And he does so with a portfolio of consulting, coaching and education services specialising in strategic management.

In terms of a core definition, strategic management is the overarching leadership skill of planning and executing a strategy to achieve a big goal and vision.  It represents the complete process of strategy and is the #1 leadership and life skill.

Established as a business discipline in the 1950s, strategic management is taught as the capstone – or most important – course in the MBA program, and most top business schools also offer individual strategic management courses.

At an advanced level, strategic management is high performance goal setting and achievement in the most important areas of one’s life. These areas include emotional and physical well-being, career/business, education, relationships, financial, and the fulfillment of one’s purpose.

Ben’s approach to strategic management applies scientific methods and models to strategy, leadership and human capital, but in a practical manner. It also draws upon related fields including neuroscience, psychology, physiology, organisation/team and personal development. 

Here are three keys to Ben’s work.

1.Master Strategist

In terms of roles, Ben is first and foremost a master strategist.

The Collins dictionary defines a strategist as “Someone who is skilled in planning the best way to gain an advantage or to achieve success.”  And, in the Merriam-Webster dictionary we read that a strategist is, “a person skilled in strategy: a person who is skilled in making plans for achieving a goal: someone who is good at forming strategies.”

Several levels above a strategist, a master strategist possesses advanced strategy skills and works as an in-house Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), board strategist, external consultant/CSO, or as the CEO/MD. Core skills of the master strategist are:

• Analyzing situations and troubleshooting problems using both traditional and proprietary strategy tool such as SmartSWOT and performance scorecards. 
• Establishing and codifying a vision and values system.
• Identifying and creating high-potential strategic positions, solutions and strategies. 
• Applying probability-payoff and risk-reward analysis to evaluate strategies. Developing solutions and strategies with the best probability-payoff and risk-reward profiles.
• Designing and developing intangible assets including productised IP, performance management systems, communications system and strategic brands.
• Writing strategic communication assets such as mission statements, business cases, brand stories, strategic plans, leadership speeches and presentations.
• Coaching business leaders and teams to improve strategic performance, including relationships, team performance and overall human capital value.
• Advising business leaders and boards on best-practice investment strategies to improve ROI on intangible assets/intellectual property and human capital.

In his role as a master strategist Ben combines significant commercial experience with a strong theoretical background that includes a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA), specialising in strategic thinking.

2.  Proprietary Strategy Tools and Methods.  Developed from 1994.

Central to Ben’s work is his use of strategy tools and techniques, which can be likened to the tools and methods that a builder or plumber uses in their work.

In terms of importance, strategy tools are to a strategist, what a hammer and nail is to a builder.  That is, they are essential. Such tools include strategy models, techniques, templates, processes, business models and complete strategy systems.

Ben attended his first strategic planning course in 1994, where he learnt strategy techniques used by organisations such as NASA. And, since that time he has designed and developed his own proprietary portfolio of tools and methods., which are housed within his Strategic Framework.

Centred on human capital development, the portfolio is designed to help teams and individuals to excel in all areas and domains of strategic management.

3. Wrinkles, War Stories and Journey

For more than three decades Ben has been in the trenches helping businesses, teams and individuals to optimize human capital and to excel at strategy and performance.  And he has plenty of wrinkles and war stories to show for it.

In the late 80s and 1990s Ben honed his skills in marketing and advertising, working as a strategist, account director and writer.

Ben’s early work portfolio includes projects for major companies including Air New Zealand, Honda, SC Johnson, and the Red Cross.  Along the way he also built specific expertise in the financial services sector, completing engagements for firms such as AIA, Armstrong Jones/ING, ANZ Bank, Tower Insurance and National Australia Bank.  As well, Ben worked closely with many of the pioneers of the New Zealand financial planning industry, and helped to develop that industry in New Zealand.

In the early 2000s Ben moved more broadly into strategy, focusing on business, team and personal strategy.  And it was at this time that he began writing about his principles of strategy and how they can be applied to improve business, team and personal performance.

Ben has worked with senior executives at large organisations, managing directors, boards and team members of multi-million dollar a year privately owned companies, government department leaders, and the owners of small businesses. And performance improvements he has helped his clients achieve include:

• Turning around under-performing businesses and business units.
• Transforming dysfunctional teams into high-performance teams.
• Revitalizing business, team and product brands.
• Coaching CEOs, managers and business leaders to be better leaders, strategic thinkers and decision-makers.  And to get all their shit together.

Ben’s work has been recognised and featured at industry conferences in both New Zealand and Australia, and has been the subject of legal action taken against others who have stolen his – and his clients’ – intellectual property.  He has helped firms in a range of sectors including investment advisory, accounting, banking, fast moving consumer goods, building and construction, food manufacturing, insurance and wellness.

On a personal level Ben has been married for more than 35 years, and has three sons and a daughter in law. His family has an international mix of ethnicities including Maori, English, Filipino, Indonesian and Spanish.

As a church and community leader Ben has headed small and large teams spanning a diverse range of ethnic, socio-economic, family, religious and occupational backgrounds. And he has served more than 30 years as a youth sports/fitness coach, outdoor education instructor and life skills mentor.

In his youth coaching and life skills mentoring work, Ben has coached championship-winning sports teams, helped youth to build valuable life skills such as goal setting, strategic planning, team work, personal leadership and fitness, and guided youth to develop and follow clear academic and career pathways.

Ben is a health and fitness advocate and masters athlete. Leaner and fitter than most men half his age, Ben’s wellness strategy includes adhering to a plant-based diet and intermittent fasting. He also runs 5-6 times a week, has previously run marathons and shorter distance events, works out with weights, and plays the sport of touch rugby to national and international level.

And it’s all a far way from where Ben began.

Ben grew up poor, the son of a wonderful mother but a largely absent father who had a love for alcohol, drugs and wild parties. And so, his early life was affected greatly by a dysfunctional environment.

Academically Ben was an average student and actually dropped out of high school, before returning again.

Ben’s improvement process began in earnest when he returned to high school and was introduced to the teachings of the late Paul J. Meyer.  Not well-known to those born after the 1980s, Paul J. Meyer is the world’s largest-selling personal development author (US $3 billion dollars in sales), and a world authority on goal setting, planning and performance.

Ben listened to Paul J. Meyer’s cassette tapes and studied his courses, and this sparked his interest in the science of strategy and performance.  Furthermore,  this was the genesis of the change in his life’s trajectory.

Ben’s approach to strategy and life performance is summarised with The 7 Ladders of Personal Strategy.

In Ben’s view life is a journey, and the success of one’s journey is represented by their performance in the 7 Ladders.  Many people perform well in 3-4 ladders.  But very few people – the top 1% – excel in all 7 ladders.  This is what strategic performance is all about.