Episode 38 - The Shrinking Lifespan of Strategy

Most organizations still approach strategy as if the world will remain reasonably stable between planning and execution.

Yet many leaders are discovering something different.

By the time priorities have been defined, budgets approved and objectives cascaded, some of the assumptions behind the strategy may already be shifting.

In this episode of The Orange Twist, Giovanna explores a question that has been on her mind for some time:

What happens when the pace of change becomes faster than the strategic cycles organizations use to navigate it?

This isn't an episode about abandoning strategy. It's about understanding how the relationship between strategy and execution is evolving, and what leadership looks like when learning becomes as important as planning.

If you've ever found yourself revisiting a strategy sooner than expected, or wondering how to provide direction while the environment keeps changing, this conversation is for you.

The Orange Twist is hosted by Giovanna D’Alessio, MCC — reflections on leadership, culture, and change for HR professionals and organizational leaders.
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Transcript

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Welcome to the Orange Twist, your 10 minute shot of insight to shake up your thinking on leadership culture and change. Hosted by Giovanna D'Alessio, Master Certified Coach. Episode 38, the shrinking lifespan of strategy. Over the last few years, I've noticed a significant shift in the way organizations relate to strategy. Most companies still follow familiar rhythms. Leadership teams come together to discuss priorities. Then strategic plans are developed, budgets are aligned, objectives are cascaded across the organization, and people leave the room with a clearer sense of direction and a shared commitment to move forward. Yet something feels different from the way strategy worked 20 or even 10 years ago. The environment surrounding those plants is moving at a completely different speed. By the time a strategy has been translated into initiatives and embedded into day-to-day operations, some of the assumptions behind it may already be under pressure. A technological development changes customer expectations. A geopolitical event reshapes a market. A decision taken elsewhere in the organization alters local priorities. A competitor enters the game from unexpected direction. The challenge is no longer creating a strategy. Organizations have always been capable of doing that. The challenge is maintaining strategic relevance while the environment continues to evolve. What I increasingly observe is that many leadership systems are still built around an older assumption. The strategy and execution are two distinct phases. First we think, then we act. First we decide and then we implement. That logic made sense in a world where change moved very slowly. Today, execution itself has become one of the most important sources of strategic insight. The moment an initiative touches reality, new information starts to emerge. Customers react. Teams discover obstacles that nobody anticipated. Opportunities appear in places that were not visible during the planning process. The organization begins learning things it could not have known in advance. And this learning often arrives long before the next strategic review. That changes the relationship between strategy and execution. Execution is no longer simply about delivering the plan, it has become part of the strategic process itself. In many ways, strategy is now being shaped while it is being executed. And this creates a very different challenge for leaders. In the past, a great deal of leadership energy was invested in defining direction and creating alignment around it. Those responsibilities remain important. People still need clarity, teams still need coherence, organizations still need to make choices. Yet another responsibility has become equally important, helping the organization learn at the speed at which reality is changing. When I look at organizations that seem particularly effective in navigating complexity, I notice that they pay close attention to the quality of their learning cycles. They do not wait for annual planning sessions to discover that the world has changed. Signals are noticed earlier, questions are raised sooner, and assumptions are revisited before they become liabilities. There is a constant dialogue between what the organization intended and what reality is revealing. Learning becomes part of the operating rhythm. A second pattern also stands out. The organizations that adapt successfully are rarely those that question everything. In fact, many of them have an unusually clear sense of what remains stable. People understand the purpose of the organization. They know what values guide decisions. They share a common understanding of what they are trying to create together. That stability matters. Without it, adaptation can easily become confusion. When people know what anchors the organization, they are much more better able to navigate changing priorities and evolving strategies without feeling lost. The third pattern, maybe the one I find most interesting, and it has to do with conversation. Many organizations still treat strategy as something that happens in executive meetings and is later communicated to everybody else. Yet some of the most valuable strategic information never appears first in a strategy document. It emerges in conversation. A customer says something unexpected, or a frontline employee notices a shift in behavior. A project team encounters a challenge that reveals a larger systemic issue. These moments often begin as isolated observations. The organizations that adapt most effectively are able to turn those observations into collective intelligence. Information travels. People remain connected to what is emerging across the system. A conversation becomes a mechanism for sensing reality. And perhaps this is one of the less visible leadership capabilities required today. Creating environments where important information can move freely enough to influence strategic thinking before opportunities are missed or problems become crisis. When I step back and look at all of this, I'm struck by how much our image of strategy is changing. For a long time, strategy was associated with prediction. We analyzed the environment, made assumptions about the future, and developed plans accordingly. And today, strategic success seems increasingly connected to a different capability. The ability to remain attentive, the ability to learn, the ability to adjust without losing direction. And this is not a smaller leadership task. If anything, it may be a more demanding one. It requires leaders to hold a longer-term ambition while remaining deeply connected to what is happening in the present. It requires confidence without rigidity, commitment without attachment, direction without the illusion that every variable can be controlled in advance. Perhaps this is why I believe the lifespan of strategy is shrinking. Not because strategy matters less, but because the world is providing feedback much faster than it used to. And when feedback arrives faster, learning becomes a strategic capability. Before we close, I would like to leave you with a reflection. Most leadership teams spend time reviewing progress against targets. Far fewer spend time reviewing the assumptions that sit underneath those targets. And yet assumptions are increasingly where strategic risk lives. So the next time your team reviews its strategy, consider asking a different question. What have we learned since we made these choices? Because the future may belong less to the organizations that create the smartest plan and more to those that can learn, adapt, and remain coherent while the world around them continues to evolve. Until next time, keep looking for your orange twist. If this episode is still something in you, subscribe to the Orange Twist, your weekly shot of insights on leadership, culture, and change served with the twist. So join me next time for another Fresh Pour of Perspective.