Strategic Thinking & Strategic Action

Fostering strategic thinking and strategic action by organizational leaders since 2007.

Why strategy fails… and how to make it succeed
Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh

Why strategy fails… and how to make it succeed

In the quest to achieve our vision, “Every organization and business leader has a strategic plan and they are executing their plan for greater success,” we have cataloged 16 causes of planning failure and suggested remedies. Here's our "watch out for it and what to do about it" list, designed to help leaders, owners, and professionals involved in strategic plan implementation assure that their efforts take the organization to the next level.

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California High Speed Rail to nowhere: Lessons for implementing our plans
Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh

California High Speed Rail to nowhere: Lessons for implementing our plans

A New Year has befallen us, ready or not. Hopefully, you are ready. That is, you - and your organization, if you are a business owner or for-profit or non-profit leader - have a plan in place for the New Year.

Now your challenge it to execute your plan for greater success. Execution, or, as we strategists call it, plan implementation, should be your mantra.

Execution, or better said, lack of it, is where it all falls apart. While the exact percentage is unclear, it’s safe to say that more than half and up to three quarters of plans are either poorly executed or not executed at all. That’s shame! A plan which is not executed is worthless.

Achieving timely and effective plan implementation is critical to success.

To bring the point home, reflect on this true tale that illustrates the perils of poor planning and, especially, poor execution.

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Why New Year’s resolutions fail: The problem of implementation
Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh

Why New Year’s resolutions fail: The problem of implementation

Yesterday, New Year’s resolutions came to mind as I was writing year-end reports to my coaching clients.

A blog post on goal-setting and achievement that I wrote earlier this year, Don’t waste your time planning, unless…, cited research showing that 92% of people who make New Year’s resolutions never actually achieve them. While I recognize that what we resolve to achieve in the New Year can be a casual goal without a lot of commitment behind it, to me it seems silly to put a marker out there and then ignore it or only half-heartedly go after it.

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Bridge the strategy gap
Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh Strategic planning Lee Crumbaugh

Bridge the strategy gap

With the recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in nearby Baltimore, bridges are on my mind.

Given my romance with epic bridges, it is no surprise that I have often likened creating a strategic plan to building a bridge to the future.

I have used the bridge analogy for years. As president of the Association for Strategic Planning (now the International Association for Strategy Professionals), more than a decade ago I started my quest to bridge what I (and others) called “the strategy gap.”

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