The Strategy playbook.
The CEO’s Guide to Effective Strategy Execution: Four Shifts That Change Everything
You know strategy is critical—but how do you move from good intentions to real, lasting impact? Over decades of working with leaders like you, I’ve seen a handful of shifts that separate companies that simply survive from those that truly lead. Let’s break down these shifts in plain language, with practical steps you can apply as soon as you land.
1. Stop “Formulating” Strategy—Start Facilitating It
Most companies still treat strategy as something created by specialists—consultants or strategy teams—then handed down to managers for execution. This rarely works. The people best positioned to make smart strategic choices are your line managers: those who live and breathe the business every day1.
Your role as CEO is to set the stage for these managers to make the right choices. That means:
Shifting meetings from one-way presentations to real conversations.
Encouraging your team to share ideas, challenge each other, and build on each other’s thinking.
Practicing the art of asking, “Tell me more about why you think that,” instead of just pushing your own view.
If your managers aren’t making the tough calls, they’re not doing their job. If your strategists aren’t helping them have better conversations, they’re not doing theirs. After every strategy session, spend as much time reviewing how the discussion went as you do reviewing the content. Did people speak up? Did you get the best thinking in the room?
Takeaway: Make your leadership team experts at facilitating; not just analysing. The best ideas come from the front lines, not from PowerPoint decks.
2. Forget about “Buy-In”—Build Real Commitment
Let’s be honest: no senior exec likes being told what to do, especially when they had no say in the decision. Yet, some leaders still try to “sell” their strategy after the fact, hoping for buy-in. This wastes time and typically breeds resentment over time.
Instead, involve the right people in shaping the strategy from the start. Not everyone needs to be in every meeting, but those who will be responsible for making things happen must be part of the process.
Figure out who truly needs to help make each decision.
Give others the authority to make the next set of choices in their areas.
Don’t just inform people; encourage and empower them.
When people help shape the strategy, they own it. They’re committed, not just compliant.
Takeaway: Redesign your strategy process so that commitment is built in, not tacked on at the end. The goal is not to “sell” your plan, but to co-create it with those who matter most.
3. Move Beyond Data—Clarify the Logic
We’ve all heard the mantra: “Let the data speak.” But data alone rarely gives you the answer. Strategy is about making bets on the future, and that means building a clear, logical argument for why your chosen path will win.
Ask yourself and your team: “What would have to be true for this strategy to work?” This question forces you to lay out your assumptions and test your logic. Too often, teams recommend a path without ever spelling out the reasoning behind it.
Practice reverse-engineering the logic of your current strategy. Can your team explain why you’re doing what you’re doing?
Apply this thinking to new options. What must be true for each to succeed?
Encourage your leaders to challenge assumptions and pressure-test the logic; not just the numbers.
Takeaway: Make it routine to ask, “Walk me through your thinking” followed by “What must be true for that to succeed?” The strongest strategies are those with the clearest logic, not just the most impressive spreadsheets.
4. Stop Chasing Frameworks—Build Your Own Model
Strategy books and business schools offer a vast array of frameworks: Five Forces, Blue Ocean, Business Model Canvas, and more. Many leaders jump from one to the next (maybe hoping for a silver bullet). Frameworks are just that – constructs to help organise your thoughts.
The best strategists do not bounce between models—they customise their own, integrating the best ideas from each and discarding what doesn’t fit. Over time, your team should have a shared way of thinking about strategy that’s highly customised to your business.
Start with a simple model that works for you (personally, I’m a strong proponent of Where-to-play and how-to-win)
Each senior executive team member should follow the constructs, but have the authority to customise it to fit their needs
A strategists role is to help uncover insights and test their thinking, so that their strategy is robust and resilient.
Takeaway: Challenge your team to develop a consistent, evolving way of thinking about strategy. The goal to gain clarity and help make better choices, at speed. When the strategy is well-designed, it should be easy to articulate and understood by the board.
What this all means for you
There are no “born strategists”—only leaders who practice, reflect, and get better over time. As a CEO, your job isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to create the environment where the best answers emerge, and where your leaders are empowered to act.
Here’s what you can do, starting today:
Make your strategy meetings real conversations, not lectures.
Involve the right people early, so commitment is built in.
Focus on the logic behind your choices, not just the data.
Encourage your team to build—and keep refining—their own way of thinking about strategy.
One of the best ways to determine how much work you need to do to enhance or improve your strategy, is to assess how your strategy stacks up today. Here’s a simple tool to do that; complete it and we will provide you with a quick diagnostic to help you assess where you are.
