Getting Strategy Wrong: The Top 5 Concepts Organizations Get Wrong about Strategy

Getting Strategy Wrong: The Top 5 Concepts Organizations Get Wrong about Strategy

The real challenge in crafting strategy lies in detecting subtle discontinuities that may undermine a business in the future. And for that there is no technique, no program, just a sharp mind in touch with the situation―Henry Mitzberg, Crafting Strategy. HBR.

Scenario planning is a key component of strategy. To Mitzberg’s point, it may not point out all the discontinuities, but when used well, it helps people pay attention better. Unfortunately, it isn’t used everywhere or often enough. Most organizations don’t apply scenario planning because they don’t understand strategy. If you participate in developing or implementing strategy, and these five areas seem in opposition to your approach, then you might want to reconsider your approach.

Strategy is a fixed roadmap. People often mistake strategy for a static blueprint rather than a dynamic, evolving process. They believe that once a plan is set, success is guaranteed. In reality, the marketplace changes constantly, and so must the approach. I tell my learners and clients that strategy is the story an organization tells itself about its future. The story evolves, and so does the strategy. Strategies do not have end dates. Every time an organization takes an action, it needs to reflect on its story and reconsider if the narrative remains valid or needs to change based on the consequences of that action.

Operational efficiency is strategy. There’s a widespread belief that operational effectiveness equates to strategy. Efficiency matters, but it’s not a substitute for the hard choices that differentiate an organization. True strategy means deciding what not to do as much as what to do.

Data alone can dictate strategy. Many organizations overvalue raw analytics, thinking numbers alone dictate strategy. While data is crucial, it’s the creative insights and bold decisions built on that data that drive real strategic breakthroughs. Analysis should guide vision, not replace it. And keep in mind there is no data from the future. The only way you can anticipate the future is to imagine it based on assigning various qualitative values to critical uncertainties. Analytics cannot create rich scenarios, only narrow, mundane forecasts that offer alternative end states with little or no context to justify or challenge them.

Any “big” action is strategic. The line between tactics and strategy is often blurred. Quick fixes and reactive moves can feel like strategic action, but without a cohesive guiding principle, they’re just isolated decisions that don’t build long-term advantages.

Strategy is only for top executives. Strategy isn’t the exclusive realm of top management. When you involve diverse voices across an organization, you tap into a wealth of perspectives that refine and challenge assumptions, leading to a more resilient strategic vision. This implies that strategy needs to be transparent. People need to understand it so they can contribute effectively.

Getting Strategy Wrong: Not Using Scenarios to Create Context About the Future

Scenario planning forces organizations to step beyond linear projections and consider multiple futures—each with its own risks, opportunities, and strategic implications. It challenges assumptions, stress-tests decisions, and builds resilience by preparing leaders for various possibilities rather than a single expected outcome. Instead of reacting to change, scenario planning helps organizations anticipate and navigate it, shaping relevant strategies as conditions shift. It’s not about predicting the future—it’s about being ready for whatever future arrives.

As the pace of change accelerates, organizations that adhere to these five misconceptions about strategy, which usually include not seeing the value of scenario planning, run the risk that their intransigent, efficient, fast-acting, top-down, data-driven organization will run up against unforeseen obstacles that may result in damage to brand, failures in markets, even going out of business, faster and in more novel ways than they ever imagined. Oh, that’s right, they decided not to imagine.

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All images via Dalle-2 and Open AI from prompts written by the author.

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