Polle de Maagt 
Polle de Maagt
Why do strategies end up in a drawer?
Things leaders often say about strategy: “We have a strategy. It’s in a PowerPoint somewhere.” “We wrote it once, for the board.” “We don’t have time for strategy.” “Nobody reads it anyway.” “Strategy is too abstract for us.” Every one of them is a reason the plan ends up in a drawer.
What I mean by strategy is simpler: a clear view of where we are, a destination we can count, the choices in between, including what we don’t do, and the discipline to make it happen.
A clear direction is what people sign up for.
Employees, partners and the board all ask the same question: what am I signing up for? Without a direction, nobody knows.
Companies run for the long term grew revenue 47% more than the rest, and earnings 36% more.
McKinsey Global Institute, 615 US companies, 2001 to 2014
Only 28% of managers who execute strategy can name three of their company’s five priorities.
Sull and colleagues, MIT Sloan Management Review, 124 organisations
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Origin: my own model, 2026. The question “What has to be true?” comes from Roger Martin. Sources: McKinsey Global Institute, Measuring the economic impact of short-termism (2017); Donald Sull and colleagues, No one knows your strategy, not even your top leaders, MIT Sloan Management Review.
