How to Make Strategy Work

Are your ExCom meetings just reporting sessions—or real strategy conversations? Learn how to use a simple Strategy Audit Tool to see if you’re truly playing to win.

When you confuse strategy with a plan, you get a thick PDF, a long project list, and a team that works hard in different directions—until results flatten and frustration grows. In this article, Jef Menguin explains strategy as a set of choices (not wishes) and why avoiding tradeoffs is the real reason plans don’t change behavior. Practice the shift and share it with your leaders so you stop collecting plans and start making winning choices.

Agile teams are everywhere.But strategically agile companies?Rare. Most teams move fast.But they’re moving in circles. They sprint hard—without knowing where the finish line is.They chase innovation—but can’t explain what they’re actually trying to win. And that’s the problem. Speed is not strategy.Being busy is not

I’ve seen it too many times. A leadership team calls me in.They’re frustrated.Their people are showing up, but not fired up.The energy is low. Innovation is flat. Initiative? Rare. They try to fix it with motivational talks, casual Fridays, team lunches, even another round of

Let’s start with the obvious:No leader wants a disengaged team. That’s why we do the surveys.That’s why we run team-building activities.That’s why we invest in wellness programs, online quizzes, and culture slogans. And yet, despite all that…↳ People feel disconnected.↳ Performance stalls.↳ Engagement scores barely

These days, everyone’s a coach.A quick online course. A certificate. A few posts on social media. Done. Some call themselves life coaches. Others, executive coaches.And yes, many of them genuinely want to help. But here’s the uncomfortable truth:Most coaching today is unfocused, unstructured—and ultimately, unhelpful.

I started my training business in 2004. Back then, I did what most people in the industry did:I studied frameworks, got familiar with competency models, met certified trainers—many of them experts in Instructional System Design, especially the ADDIE framework. It worked.At least in the world,

Jim Collins said it best: “Good is the enemy of great.” And if you’ve ever hit a plateau, you know exactly what that means. Things started strong.Momentum was real.You launched, built traction, found your groove. But now?The returns are smaller.The excitement’s faded.You’re still moving—but not