Why Your Strategic Plans Keep Failing | Linking Strategy to Execution
Vision & Strategy
There’s a very good reason why Incrementa doesn’t offer one-off strategy sessions: In most businesses, they’re a waste of time.
You spend two days offsite, build a beautiful slide deck, do some team building, feel the momentum—until real life hits.
Then what? That shiny binder becomes SPOTS: Strategic Plan On The Shelf.
And the numbers don’t lie. Up to 90% of strategic plans fail to launch or get implemented.
The goal isn’t to make a plan. The goal is to build a great business. The plan is just the map. You still need the engine, fuel and road conditions to make it real.
It needs to be tied directly to execution, accountability, and non-negotiable habits. That’s what the HEALTHY and DISCIPLINED pillars in the Momentum Framework are all about.
How do you create the bridge between strategy and execution? Let’s dive in.
Why Most Strategic Plans Fail | The SPOTS Trap
I remember getting the call during COVID. It was the Director of Strategy for a large company that decided not to use my services – they wanted a traditional strategic planning process.
The planning session went so smoothly. They spent time talking about their mission and vision. They had long team building lunches and even went axe throwing.
They came out of the session with their strategic priorities for the next 3 years (during COVID!) and were ready to go.
It was a great session – no real conflict, connection time, and even the makings of a plan. It felt like progress – but six months later, nothing had changed.
That’s why I got a call.
A session without conflict? The “makings of a plan”? No actual progress 6 months later?
This wasn’t building strategy. It was a classic strategic planning failure.
Strategy Alone Doesn’t Build a Business
In the meeting about going back to traditional strategic planning, the Director of Strategy told me: “The president didn’t just want another task list. He wanted a strategy.”
Ok! (Never mind that strategy one of our core pillars)
I’ve read so often “a plan is not a strategy”. They’re right. But without a plan, a strategy is just a dream.
A great business needs a balance of strategic clarity, disciplined execution and the right culture to pull it all together.
Let’s be honest – your strategic planning session is the most expensive project kickoff in the business.
Two or three days with the highest-paid people in the company.
Now ask yourself: would you ever run a real kickoff without:
- Clear next steps?
- Aligned stakeholders?
- A rough scope?
- Named owners for key initiatives?
- Update meetings on the calendar?
If you’d do that for a major project…
Why wouldn’t you demand the same from your strategic plan?
If the goal is to build a great business, then strategy isn’t the point. Execution is.
And SPOTS (Strategy Plan on Top Shelf) won’t get you there.
The Bridge Between Strategy and Execution
“What does it look like when a plan actually lives inside the business?”
The first thing to understand is this: a 3-year plan is obsolete almost as soon as it’s printed. The world changes too fast. Your business has to adapt, course correct, and learn constantly.
That’s why we operate in a quarterly planning rhythm. We still aim at 3-year goals, but the route is planned one quarter at a time. This helps maintain the momentum – each planning session is a big boost for the team – especially when you start to crush the quarterly goals!
Companies that adapt quickly outperform their competition. Quarterly planning is how you stay ahead.
The real bridge to execution is how you run your annual and quarterly priorities. Annual priorities are broken down into quarterly priorities.
Every quarterly priority (we call them rocks) has a single owner. They’re accountable for getting it done.
Each rock breaks down into a 13-week execution plan. Every step has a named owner.
We track both leading and lagging metrics on a simple team scoreboard. That makes progress visible in our Weekly Accountability Meeting — and it builds team-based accountability over time.
If someone’s falling behind, it’s visible. Everyone sees it. That creates pressure — not from management, but from the team. And the team can step in to keep things on track.
Your job as the leader? Drive that accountability. Not by forcing it. By creating the structure, reinforcing the culture, and clearing the path so people can focus on what matters.
Dive Deeper on This Topic:
- Leadership and Execution
- https://www.incrementa.ca/how-to-actually-create-accountability-in-your-organization-without-being-a-jerk-about-it/
The Real Goal: Build a Great Business
At the end of the day, your goal isn’t just to build a better plan.
It’s to build a great business.
That means:
- A great culture that attracts (and retains) the right people
- A clear direction that everyone understands
- A proven strategy to achieve that direction
- Disciplined execution that gets the right things done
- Real growth — financially, and in opportunities for the team
Strategy matters. Execution matters more.
But neither matters without clarity on what you’re building.
If you’re done with plans that sit on a shelf and want a system that drives real execution, let’s talk.
We help leadership teams create clarity, build momentum, and turn strategy into action — without the drama.
