Feb04
Most strategies don’t fail because they’re wrong.
They fail because the world they were built for no longer exists.
And by the time that becomes obvious, momentum, pride, and sunk cost keep organisations moving forward anyway.
The hidden assumption inside most strategy
Every strategic plan carries an unspoken belief:
That context will remain stable long enough for execution to matter.
For decades, that was a reasonable assumption.
Markets moved. Technology evolved. Regulation shifted.
But not all at once.
Today, context mutates faster than plans can be refreshed.
And strategy, as traditionally practiced, struggles to keep up.
When strategy becomes theatre
I often sit in rooms where strategy is presented flawlessly.
Clear pillars. Elegant diagrams. Confident language.
Yet something feels off.
Leaders nod, but no one fully believes the plan will survive first contact with reality.
Strategy becomes a performance rather than a navigation tool.
Not because people are disingenuous.
But because the environment no longer rewards certainty.
Plans don’t fail. Assumptions do.
The real fragility isn’t the strategy document.
It’s the assumptions underneath it.
Assumptions about:
When these shift simultaneously, linear plans fracture.
Execution teams feel it first.
Leadership often feels it last.
Why agility alone isn’t enough
Many organisations respond by becoming “agile.”
They shorten cycles. Increase iterations. Accelerate feedback.
This helps.
But agility without foresight still reacts rather than prepares.
You move faster, but not necessarily wiser.
The question isn’t how quickly you can adjust.
It’s whether you’re adjusting in the right direction.
Immediate Futures™ thinking
This is where I introduce leaders to Immediate Futures™.
Not prediction.
Not distant scenarios.
But a disciplined way to:
Immediate Futures™ lives between today and tomorrow.
It’s the space where most strategic value is currently being missed.
Why context now outruns consensus
Another quiet failure point.
Consensus takes time.
Context doesn’t wait.
By the time alignment is achieved, conditions have already shifted.
This creates a dangerous lag where leaders feel unified but misaligned with reality.
The strongest organisations don’t eliminate consensus.
They narrow it to what truly matters.
And they give leaders permission to revisit decisions without treating it as failure.
The emotional cost of outdated strategy
There’s also a human impact rarely acknowledged.
When people are asked to execute strategies they no longer believe in, trust erodes.
Engagement drops.
Cynicism grows.
Not because teams resist change.
But because they sense misalignment long before leaders admit it.
Strategy failure shows up first as cultural fatigue.
Ripple Effects matter more than roadmaps
Linear roadmaps assume cause and effect move in straight lines.
They don’t.
Every strategic decision now creates ripple effects across:
Ignoring these ripples doesn’t simplify execution.
It amplifies risk.
Foresight isn’t about seeing further.
It’s about seeing wider.
What effective strategy looks like now
The most effective strategies I see share a few traits:
These strategies don’t promise certainty.
They promise responsiveness with intent.
A reframing worth holding
Strategy is no longer a map.
It’s a navigation practice.
Plans still matter.
But context matters more.
And leaders who recognise this early gain something increasingly rare.
Credibility.
What to sit with
If your strategy feels sound but execution feels strained, the problem may not be the plan.
It may be the pace at which the world around it is changing.
The future doesn’t punish bad strategy.
It punishes static thinking.
Choose Forward
—
Morris Misel
By Morris Misel
Keywords: Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Leadership
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