About Craig Lawrence CBE
Craig Lawrence CBE is a global strategy expert with a proven record of developing and implementing real-world strategies that deliver transformational results.
Craig Lawrence CBE is an internationally recognised strategy expert and strategic leadership consultant. He has a proven track record of helping organisations develop and implement innovative, practical strategies that turn vision into reality.
Craig commissioned into Britain’s Gurkhas in 1983 and spent over three decades in the British Army developing and executing high-level strategies, including for the UK Ministry of Defence (UK MOD) and for NATO.
Having reached the rank of Major General, Craig left the Army in 2016 (his last appointment was as the UK MOD’s Director of Joint Warfare) to become the Course Director at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) in London – the UK Government’s premier “strategy school.” There, he reshaped its flagship postgraduate programme in strategic studies and leadership, making it one of the most sought-after career accelerators for senior executives worldwide. He also authored Getting Strategy Right (Enough), the UK Government’s practical guide to strategy making and strategic leadership.
Craig is a Fellow of both the Institute of Consulting (IC) and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the author of six books. He left RCDS in 2020 to establish his own consultancy and now advises global businesses, public sector organisations and nonprofits on strategic thinking, leadership development and the development and implementation of effective strategy, helping them bridge the gap between current challenges and future success.
Drawing on his wealth of both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, Craig published The Quick Guide to Effective Strategy in 2023. The book, which is an Amazon best-seller, is a “how-to” manual for anyone who needs to develop strategy – from business leaders and charity trustees to school governors, entrepreneurs, civil servants and elected officials.
Craig has a BSc in ‘Engineering’ from the University of Durham, an MSc in the ‘Design of Information Systems’ from Cranfield University and an MA in ‘Conflict, Security and Development’ from King’s College London (KCL). Awarded an MBE in 2001, Craig also received a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service (QCVS) in 2004 and a CBE in 2013.
Use the menu at the top of the page to watch some of Craig’s strategy ‘shorts’ (under ‘Insights’) or click the button below to find out more about his most recent strategy book and how it can help you build a winning strategy for your own organisation. Scroll down to see some of Craig’s recent articles and/or to follow him on social media, where he is a frequent contributor on strategy issues.
Recent strategy articles and government strategy guides by Craig Lawrence CBE
Think Strategically (Independent School Management – February 2024)
In this article for Independent School Magazine, Craig Lawrence explains why it’s so important that organisations continue to think strategically, even if they have a strategy in place.
To explain this, he answers three critical questions:
- First, what is strategic thinking?
- Second, why is it important?
- Third, how do you do it?
(Click the image to see the article)
The Art of Strategy (Independent School Management – Summer 2023)
In this article for Independent School Magazine, strategy expert Craig Lawrence explains what strategy is, what the eight characteristics of an effective strategy are and why it’s important that an organisation’s own people are involved its strategy’s development.
(Click the image to see the article)
How to develop an effective strategy that works, even during uncertainty
In this article for the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), strategy expert Craig Lawrence explains what strategy is and how you can develop an effective strategy by understanding the uncertainty of the future and ensuring that your strategy is able to exploit the opportunities and address the threats that it is likely to create.
(Click the image to see the article)
Getting Strategy Right (Enough) (The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS))
Craig Lawrence authored this seminal guide on developing and implementing effective strategy whilst he was the Strategy Director at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) in London. The guide, which is in widespread use across many UK Government Departments, draws on lessons from the ‘Report of the Iraq Inquiry’ (aka the Chilcot Report), the UK’s failed intervention in Afghanistan and many other strategic failures, as well as many successes, to provide an invaluable guide to public sector strategy making and strategic leadership.
(Click the image to see the article)