As part of our recent FaMoRa Services contest, participants shared their insights on a familiar and consistent challenge: translating strategic intent into consistent, measurable execution. A winner was selected and to close the loop, a broader poll was conducted to gather additional perspectives.
The results indicated the sentiment that most organizations lean toward execution first. However, strategy and execution are not separate choices. Strategy can only exist when it is executed. Strategy that isn’t executed is aspiration. Execution without strategy is activity.
Where improvement is needed depends on how tightly those elements are connected:
1️⃣ When Vision Dominates
– Translate strategy into clear priorities vs lists of initiatives
– Define owners, timelines, and measurable outcomes
– Invest in operating rhythms (regular check ins, measuring key performance indicators, etc.)
– Focus more on building the execution muscle
🔑 Progress comes from rigour, not more ambition.
2️⃣ When Execution Dominates
– Revisit long-term goals and pressure-test whether they are bold enough
– Create space for innovation and experimentation, not just optimization
– Encourage leaders to ask “What’s next?”
– Link execution excellence to future growth opportunities
🔑 Execution is powerful, but only when it is aimed at the right destination.
3️⃣ When Organizations Sit in the Middle
– Tighten the connection between strategy, resourcing and decision-making
– Ensure teams understand why priorities matter
– Reduce initiative overload by focusing
– Align messages so that strategy and execution reinforce each other
🔑Alignment is rarely a breakthrough moment; it is a continuous practice.
💡 The leadership challenge resides not in rebalancing strategy versus execution, but to engineer the system that keeps them inseparable through key choices, relentless prioritization and supporting operating mechanisms.