Living Strategy’s Lana Guernsey on the Power of Strategy and Purpose for the Future of K-12

It's a pleasure having you here Lana, especially given the unique product and solution you offer. Can we start with a brief history of your career and how it led you into the EdTech world?

Sure. It has been an honor to spend the last 20 years working in, for, and with public, charter, and independent schools across the U.S. I've worked with innovative schools in Silicon Valley and beyond, focusing on strategic planning for school leaders. My journey started as a teacher, and over the years, I've held roles as an administrator, fundraiser, and board member. I left healthcare over 20 years ago to make a meaningful impact in K-12 education, especially in hands-on, project-based learning for girls. From helping launch a science and technology-focused girls' school in Northern California, I shifted to helping schools with strategic planning, curriculum design, and vision-setting.

Impressive! I'd like to delve into the K-12 context. You mentioned three types of schools. Can you share your perspective on how these categories function and what’s working in K-12 education in the U.S.?

Most of my experience is in the U.S., but when we started Living Strategy in 2020, our first project was a girls' school in Kenya. This underscored that education is local, driven by the needs of the community. The best education remains personal, even with AI and online learning. The spark between teachers and students is crucial. Across geographies, our goal is to elevate and celebrate educators' work, inspiring their students. This mission drives both EdTech and global education efforts.

Strategic planning in schools isn’t often obvious. Can you explain the need for strategy in schools and how it applies globally?

Strategic planning can sound like a corporate buzzword, but in education, it's about adapting best practices to support schools. Many school leaders seek a way to engage their community, align teachers, and create a vision that inspires action and serves students. Whether called strategic planning or mission and values work, it boils down to articulating a school’s core purpose and goals. This creates a shared direction that helps everyone—from teachers to students—work towards a common vision.

What drives school leaders to seek strategic planning, and how does your platform, Living Strategy, help them make that vision a reality?

Great question. Many school leaders come to us because they struggle to prioritize among all their good ideas. They have a vision but need help getting everyone pulling in the same direction. A Living Strategy gives them a clear North Star, helping articulate the "why" behind what they care about and create actionable plans around it. It adapts to changes, like during COVID, ensuring the school’s core mission, values, and goals guide their actions even through unexpected challenges.

Do you often find that schools already have a sense of their mission and values, or does your platform help establish that alignment first?

Typically, good school leaders know their mission, but they need help articulating it clearly and implementing it. Our platform helps align the school community to a shared vision and fosters collaboration to achieve common goals. School leaders often say, “Help me turn my vision into an actionable plan.” That’s what we aim to do—help them not only set the vision but also execute it by crowdsourcing action and celebrating progress along the way.

And how does your platform help with execution and tracking progress after the strategy is set?

Once school leaders have their vision, they often struggle with getting traction on implementing it. Our platform enables them to record and track actions across their community, making progress visible and fostering collaboration. This approach ensures that the vision isn’t just a document but an ongoing, dynamic effort that adapts to changes and celebrates collective progress in real-time. It's about making strategy actionable and alive—hence, a "Living Strategy."

One of the concepts we discussed before starting this interview was "Tiny Triumphs." It immediately reminds me of gamification and making strategy part of daily life with strong alignment. Can you explain how it works and what school leaders can expect after engaging with the platform?

Our Tiny Triumphs app, developed over four years, draws on research around positive psychology and intrinsic motivation. We saw a gap in education—teachers need a way to celebrate incremental progress. The app allows them to capture small victories, like a successful classroom moment, and privately share it with colleagues. Before they post, the app asks if this success aligns with school priorities, like whole-child development or academic excellence. This process has shown that celebrating these small wins accelerates goal achievement and fosters collaboration across departments and campuses. It’s about making everyday efforts visible and inspiring.

That sounds like a great bottom-up approach to strategy, tapping into real, day-to-day moments of inspiration. Often strategy feels top-down and disconnected. But this connects to what's happening on the ground.

Exactly. What we often do in education is help students break down big problems into actionable steps. Yet teachers sometimes feel disconnected from strategy, thinking it's the administrator's job. With Tiny Triumphs, we remind them that progress happens incrementally, and it doesn't have to be perfect. By celebrating these small victories, we can acknowledge collective progress in a way that wouldn’t be possible if their efforts went unnoticed. It’s about making progress visible, inspiring both teachers and students.

What’s your vision for Living Strategy five to ten years from now?

In five to ten years, I want to change how we think about progress in education. Take a recent example: a school in Northern California integrated Tiny Triumphs into their faculty's routine. They formed committees, taught the platform to students, and even dedicated a wall for posting triumphs. I hope Tiny Triumphs becomes as integral to work culture as smart goals or KPIs, where tracking progress is more about celebrating accomplishments and then turning that inspiration into action.

As a marketing agency, we're always interested in growth challenges. What’s your biggest challenge today as the founder of Living Strategy?

As a small, bootstrapped company, resources are always a challenge. Finding a marketing partner who understands that education is purpose-driven and mission-first is key. Marketing in EdTech requires authenticity and sincerity. Just like scientists or educators, school leaders want data-driven approaches, not hyper-promotion. What has helped us succeed so far is coming in as thought partners, asking what challenges they face, and focusing on how we can help them solve those problems.

Let's dive into the concept of "Tiny Triumphs." It brings to mind gamification, but also making strategy part of daily routines while keeping alignment. Could you explain how it works and what school leaders can expect after using the platform?

We spent four years developing Tiny Triumphs, drawing from research in positive psychology and motivation. There's a gap in schools where teachers often don't celebrate small wins while working towards bigger goals. Our app lets teachers quickly capture and share moments they're proud of, making the important work that often goes unnoticed visible to colleagues. The platform helps align these successes with school-wide goals, fostering collaboration and boosting morale across departments and campuses.

That seems like a great way to flip the traditional top-down strategy approach to one rooted in real, everyday achievements.

Exactly! We often scaffold learning for students but forget that educators, too, need to break down big challenges into manageable actions. Teachers sometimes feel disconnected from strategy, thinking it’s only for administrators. Tiny Triumphs reminds them that incremental progress is valuable, and celebrating small wins across a school can build collective momentum. This bottom-up approach empowers everyone to contribute to the strategy in a meaningful, visible way.

What’s your vision for Living Strategy in the next five to ten years?

In five to ten years, I hope we change the conversation in education by focusing on celebrating individual contributions as a means of progress. I recently worked with a school in Northern California where Tiny Triumphs became part of their daily routine. They even created a committee to introduce it to students and dedicated a wall to display these victories. I want Tiny Triumphs to become as integral as smart goals or KPIs, with schools tracking progress through celebration and inspiration.

As a marketing agency, we're always interested in growth challenges. What’s your biggest challenge today as the founder of Living Strategy?

Our biggest challenge is being a small, bootstrapped company with limited resources. Finding a marketing partner who understands that education is purpose-driven and mission-first is key. Marketing in EdTech requires authenticity—educators want data-driven approaches, not hyper-promotion. Our success so far comes from positioning ourselves as thought partners, focusing on solving real problems school leaders face.

Excellent. Are you looking for partners in those countries, or will you be doing the work centrally?

Technology allows us to collaborate globally in real time, which is amazing. But we know education is local, and to customize and deploy our platform effectively, we need educational leaders in the countries we expand to. They help us understand local needs and priorities. Our platform can be customized for different communities, but we want to ensure it's culturally sensitive and serves their students. Local leadership will help us get the culture right and provide the best service.

Going back to the start of the interview, what's the most common misconception about strategy?

The biggest misconception is that strategy is a to-do list. People often share thick binders full of tasks and deadlines. But that's not strategy. Strategy is about vision—what does wild success look like? Instead of a rigid, long-term plan, focus on short-term action steps (30, 90 days, or a year) with core values and vision that are evergreen. Strategy should be adaptable and focused on long-term goals, with shorter action plans, making it easier to implement.

Exactly. I've also noticed that people think these plans are set in stone, which leads them to shelve them and revisit them much later.

That’s why people say, "No one looks at our strategic plan." Before a plan, you need a strategic vision. The best strategic visions, including key action items, fit on one page. That's when it becomes a living document everyone can embrace and implement at all levels. A concise plan is easier to remember, act upon, and rally people behind.

What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?

You connect the dots of your life in the rearview mirror, not the windshield. It’s okay to follow your gut, but be smart about it. While I support following your passion, you should have a plan and understand why you're doing it, even if you don’t know how it’ll all come together. In your 20s, you might feel rushed, but things will work out. If I could tell my younger self that I’d figure things out over time, I would’ve felt more confident making career shifts. Just be smart and have a vision.

Regarding brand exposure, what are the most valuable events or conferences for Living Strategy in the U.S.?

The ASU-GSV Summit in San Diego is critical for EdTech startups. It brings together the entire ecosystem. Another one to note is the ASU WGSV Air Show, focused on the AI revolution in education. We participated last year and plan to return. South by Southwest EDU in Austin is also valuable, bringing together teachers, EdTech providers, investors, and more. Both events foster collaboration on important topics in education and EdTech.

Which social media platform do you think is best for reaching K-12 teachers and administrators?

We’re focusing on LinkedIn. While there are teacher groups on Facebook and other platforms, LinkedIn's professional tone aligns with our target audience of school leaders. We find LinkedIn’s ability to maintain professionalism makes it an important partner for our brand. That's where we’ll be posting and sharing our content in the near term, with plans to expand in 2025.

Anything else you'd like to mention?

EdTech is a purpose-driven field, and for those looking for mission-driven work, now is the time to join. There are so many opportunities in EdTech to make a difference. The industry is growing rapidly and needs more talent. If you’re seeking a career with purpose, education and EdTech is the place to be for the next 10, 20 years, and beyond.