I’ve been aware of the strategy void for some time. And for a time I didn’t know what to call it. The term was coined in a conversation with a former colleague and CEO over coffee. We were discussing the reasons businesses struggle to scale and the barriers around taking sound business strategy to market – both inside and outside of organisations. His key question – what is the problem that the market faces here? He drew two lines on a scrap of paper. On one side, business strategy, on the other execution of activity. That’s the problem there he said, pointing to the gap – and there it was “the strategy void”, I said.
The Strategy Void – The Inevitable Gap To Implementation
What exactly is the strategy void? Simply, it is the inevitable gap formed when business strategy and planning ends and needs to move to implementation and activity. There are different types of void and each void can form as the result of a mix of conditions. Having witnessed the strategy void first hand, I set about finding the evidence that proved this was indeed a market problem faced by all organisation leaders. It was not surprising that evidence was plentiful.
If you’re already convinced and are not that interested in evidence, then in conclusion: the strategy void is very real and has been around for some considerable time – reported for over 20 years.
Of course, if you’re reading this, you are much more likely to be interested in just how widespread this problem is. I’m a great believer in a ‘three-legged stool’ of evidence – if you can find three legs, then your argument is well balanced, stable and will sit on the stool quite comfortably. Not to say you can’t sit your argument on a stool with one leg, but it lacks stability and staying balanced is far trickier.
A Common Thread in Strategy Failure
In this 2022 HBR article, they observe that 60-90% of strategic plans never fully launch. I would not be so bold as to suggest that the strategy void is the sole reason for this. Rather, the strategy void is a common thread across their article that cites four common reasons that strategies fail. Whether the common reason is not understanding the problem, not understanding the organization’s capabilities, not understanding the immovable pressures, or not understanding the cultural landscape, HBR references the importance of market understanding, ability to plan (versus focus on execution instead of planning), operational bandwidth and the organisation’s employees historical view of strategic initiatives. A lack of understanding of what it takes to translate and deliver a business strategy ready for execution results in businesses arriving at the strategy void.
Strategy Implementation is A Consistent Fail
As mentioned above, the strategy void is not new. What should be of concern to all CEOs is the length of time that is has been around. Bridges Consultancy has been researching strategy implementation for over 20 years. In their 2020 report, Bridges 20 Years of Strategy Implementation Research , they report consistent findings over 20 years:- leaders habitually underestimate the implementation challenges, employees struggle to understand the right actions to implement strategy and poor communication, lack of different actions being taken and lack of leadership consistently rank as the key reasons implementation fails.
If these findings were not enough to alarm CEOs contemplating strategy change, the Bridges report calls out just how few leaders feel their organisation is equipped to implement; just 7% of respondents believing their organisation is excellent in its ability to implement strategy.
Corporate and Business Units Lack Alignment
To complete our three-legged stool, let’s turn to the 2021 report by the Strategy Implementation Institute regarding the future of strategy implementation. This is an excellent read, and thoroughly recommended. To provide the final validation, they address the strategy void directly “Sometimes, the strategic objectives are not clear or don’t even exist. A gap and lack of alignment often exists between the corporate strategic objectives and the ones from the different business units, departments, or functions”.
Bridging The Strategy Void
We’ve established that the strategy void is real market problem that has existed for over 20 years and is a common thread in reasons that strategies fail to launch. Further poor implementation – from strategy to activity is recognised as by leaders as a weakness in over 90% of organisations.
Bridging the void, therefore, is key for any business to be successful.
The void is crossed by having a robust marketing bridge strategy that can navigate the path to implementation by understanding the landscape on both sides of the void. To be successful, it must balance the two sides as it builds its way across, ensuring that the essence of the business strategy is not lost, interpreting, or translating that strategy into a consistent story that can be understood by everyone inside and outside of an organisation. It must develop measures and metrics that link the people who must deliver activity to the business and create a sense of belonging to that strategy. Finally, it must propose activities that are of value and matter to the leadership and can be delivered by the skills and capabilities within the organisation.
