---
id: "quote-strategic-center-importance"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ Strategy Amid Radical Uncertainty"]
tags: ["strategy", "leadership"]
related: ["concept-strategic-centering", "framework-strategic-centers"]
speaker: "Rita McGrath"
speakers: ["Rita McGrath"]
quote: "Choosing a center is the most important strategic decision a leader can make today."
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-106-decision-frameworks-fail"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/gg-why-decision-making-frameworks-fail"
sourceTitle: "Why Decision-Making Frameworks Fail"
---
# The Importance of Choosing a Center

> *"Choosing a center is the most important strategic decision a leader can make today."*
> — **[[entity-rita-mcgrath]]**

McGrath's conclusion on the necessity of [[concept-strategic-centering]] in the modern economy. It elevates the choice of an organizing principle (from the five options in [[framework-strategic-centers]]) above traditional positioning moves, precisely because the anchors of [[concept-the-stuff-economy]] no longer hold.