Why I wrote The UnConventional Strategist

People keep asking me the same question:

“Why did you write this book?”

The short answer is: because I got bored.

That sounds flippant, but it’s true. Really.

Originally, this book was supposed to be about measuring ROI on the Competitive Intelligence function. It was going to be practical, structured, and useful in the way business books are supposed to be. I sat down, outlined the chapters, and started writing.

By the end of Chapter One, I realized something.

I didn’t want to write another book full of frameworks, dashboards, and metrics.

Not because those things aren’t important, they are. I’ve spent decades building competitive intelligence functions, helping shape strategy, leading teams, launching products, and working across industries. I’ve lived in that world for more than 40 years.

But the things that stayed with me weren’t the frameworks.

They were the stories.

The conversations.

The mistakes.

The awkward meetings.

The moments where experience quietly whispered something that spreadsheets couldn’t.

And that’s when the book changed.

I stopped asking:

“How do I explain Competitive Intelligence?”

And started asking myself:

“If I could sit down with someone earlier in their career — or someone stuck mid-career — what would I actually tell them?”

That thought became The UnConventional Strategist.

This Isn’t a Book About Competitive Intelligence

That statement surprises people. Because I’m well recognized globally for work I’ve done in this field. Lots of speaking engagements. Lots of phone calls helping colleagues.

Yes, I use competitive intelligence terminology throughout the book. Yes, strategy, analysis, decision making, and pattern recognition show up often.

But this isn’t a textbook… it’s a book about thinking.

How to think strategically.

How to see patterns.

How to make decisions when information is incomplete.

How to challenge assumptions.

How to recognize opportunities that don’t arrive with a neon sign attached shouting “I’m here”

How to become the kind of person others trust to navigate uncertainty.

The title wasn’t accidental.

I’ve spent much of my career discovering that many of the things that actually work in business don’t always look conventional.

Some of the best decisions happen without perfect information.

Some of the strongest leaders ask more questions than they answer.

Some of the smartest moves look irrational until years later.

And some of the greatest opportunities arrive disguised as inconvenience.

That doesn’t fit neatly into a traditional business book.

So I didn’t write one.

The Career Advice I Wish Someone Had Given Me

If I’m honest, this book is partly selfish.

It’s the accumulation of lessons I wish someone had handed me decades ago.

Not because I regret my path - far from it.

But because experience is expensive.

You pay for it in time.

In missed opportunities.

In wrong turns.

In projects that fail.

In meetings that could have been emails.

In realizing ten years later that someone was trying to teach you something and you weren’t listening.

I wanted to shorten that learning curve for someone else.

Not by pretending I have all the answers.

But by sharing the questions that turned out to matter.

Questions like:

• Are you solving the right problem?

• Are you reacting or choosing?

• Are you following process or creating value?

• Are you measuring what matters?

• Are you making decisions for today or for the person you want to become?

Those questions apply whether you work in strategy, product management, intelligence, engineering, sales, or something completely different.

Because strategic thinking isn’t a job title.

It’s a way of approaching the world.

Strategy Is About People More Than Markets

One of the biggest surprises of my career is realizing strategy isn’t primarily about competitors.

It’s about people.

People create products.

People build companies.

People make decisions.

People resist change.

People create opportunities.

And people interpret the same facts differently.

You can have the best data in the world and still make poor decisions.

You can have incomplete information and still make great ones.

The difference is often judgment.

That’s one reason this book blends stories with ideas.

Because stories carry nuance.

Stories help us remember.

Stories show the gray areas where life actually happens.

I’ve always believed intelligence gathers information.

Wisdom decides what to do with it.

Why UnConventional?

Because conventional thinking often produces conventional outcomes.

That doesn’t mean being rebellious for the sake of it.

It means giving yourself permission to question assumptions.

To remain curious.

To think across disciplines.

To borrow ideas from unexpected places.

To recognize that expertise can sometimes become a blindfold.

Some of the most valuable lessons in my career came from places I never expected:music, sales, product management, strategy, leadership, failures, side conversations, and moments where things did not go according to plan.

Especially those moments.

My Hope for This Book

I don’t expect everyone to agree with everything in these pages.

That’s not the point.

My hope is simpler than that.

I hope something in the book makes you pause.

I hope a story reminds you of your own experience.

I hope an idea gives you permission to think differently.

And I hope you walk away with one or two concepts that make your work, your decisions, or your life a little better.

As I say in the opening:

It’s part field manual, part therapy, part bar conversation — meant to help you become the kind of strategist the world actually needs.

If that sounds useful, then I wrote it for you.

Jay Nakagawa is recognized as a global thought leader and keynote speaker in Strategic Competitive Intelligence, Jay is passionate about helping organizations see around corners and make smarter, faster decisions in complex markets. His website is www.JayNakagawa.com.