Why Your Strategy is Failing: The Silent Killers You Didn’t See Coming

Have you ever sat through a strategy meeting where the air was thick with buzzwords but thin on substance? Many organizations fall into the trap of bad strategy—long on goals, short on coherent policies and actions.

Bad strategy is often disguised as ambition. Setting lofty goals like 'market leadership' or 'innovation excellence' sounds inspiring but without a clear diagnosis of challenges or a guiding policy, these goals remain wishes. Fluff and vague language create an illusion of strategy while masking confusion and indecision.

One reason bad strategy persists is the political and emotional difficulty of making hard choices. Saying no means disappointing stakeholders and risking conflict. Group decision-making can fall victim to Condorcet’s paradox, where preferences cycle endlessly without consensus. This leads to compromised strategies that satisfy no one.

Recognizing these pitfalls is the first step toward effective strategy. Leaders must embrace clarity, focus, and courage, cutting through the noise to identify what truly matters and aligning actions accordingly.

In the following posts, we will explore how to overcome these barriers and build strategies that deliver real results.

Sources: YouExec summary 1 , TheRightQuestions review 2 , Amazon reviews 4