Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail: Finding the Right For-Purpose Strategic Cadence
According to Harvard Business School research, a staggering 90% of organisational strategic plans ultimately go unexecuted [1]. It’s a sobering statistic that begs the question: are you resigned to being part of that failed 90% majority? Or are you ready to buck the trend and join the 10% that successfully translate their strategic visions into tangible real-world impact?
What separates the 10% from the 90%? What's the secret sauce that allows some purpose-driven leaders to masterfully walk the tightrope of long-term strategic planning and short-term operational execution?
I believe the answer lies in finding the right strategic cadence—consistently alternating between future-focused thinking to map the broader journey and a rigorous process for identifying the crucial next steps to propel you forward. It's a delicate dance of looking towards the horizon while also intentionally planting each foot.
On April 11th, I'll be diving deeper into this topic of strategy and planning in a FREE 90-minute webinar to help For-Purpose leaders get momentum forward.
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As a purpose-driven leader working to create positive social or environmental change, you've likely been told that creating a solid long-term strategic plan is critical. After all, you're taking on huge, complex, world-changing challenges that will require years of sustained effort. Doesn't it make sense to map out a comprehensive multi-year roadmap detailing every milestone and resource need?
Well, yes and no.
The reality is that both sides of the strategic planning spectrum can potentially lead to failure for mission-driven organisations. Failing to have a sharp long-term vision or direction is clearly problematic and a recipe for aimless efforts. But conversely, obsessing over creating the perfect bullet-proof, long-term strategic plan can become a form of procrastination and prevent you from actually making real progress – and the impact the world needs.
The Paralysis of Over-Planning
You've probably experienced it before - spending months upon months meticulously forecasting scenarios, building complicated models, and attempting to predict every possible variable 3-5 years into the future. All that time scrutinising and debating hypotheticals rather than actually doing. Pretty soon, that binder representing your grand "strategic plan" has become the ultimate form of procrastination.
Through my coaching and past group programmes with purpose-driven leaders, I have found a consistent challenge arises when it comes to strategic planning. We tend to create mental barriers for ourselves, both for long-term visioning and short-term operational planning.
I often hear the refrains: "I just need to carve out a full day to really focus on our strategy," or "I'll map out next steps once I can clear my headspace and get in the right mindset." We convince ourselves we need that ideal condition of unlimited time and mental bandwidth before we can dive into the strategic work.
But in reality, this means we frequently put off planning, waiting for that mythical "perfect moment" of inspiration and energy to strike. We build it up as this monumental undertaking that will require intense, uninterrupted thinking. Spoiler alert: that mythical day rarely comes.
The truth is, very few leaders I’ve coached ever find themselves in that ideal scenario of having sprawling free time to carefully craft multi-year strategic plans. And even if you did, excessive upfront analysis often proves futile as unforeseen circumstances inevitably shift the landscape over time.
The Short-Term Blind Spot
In a poll of purpose-driven leaders I ran a while back at Do Good Jobs, a striking theme emerged. Most leaders are focused on creating robust 1,3 or 5 year strategic visions and plans but severely lack the emphasis on the short-term priorities and execution plans for the coming 30/60/90 days.
Those long-range plans often end up dying a slow death, relegated to desk drawers and Dropbox folders because the wheels aren't turning on the short-term energising actions to create momentum. Without that short-burst cadence, the long-term strategy inevitably stagnates.
Test and Experiment > Over-Speculate
As for-purpose leaders, finding that balanced rhythm of short bursts guiding longer strides is key. You need to avoid the pitfalls of failing to plan AND excessive upfront planning destined to fail.
The key is to start strategic thinking in more manageable chunks, leveraging brief windows of time to clarify your organisational "Why" and identify short-term "What" objectives for the coming quarter. Don't wait for perfection; build momentum through iterative planning cycles. Embrace the discomfort of making imperfect plans, taking action, observing results, and evolving. Perfect conditions will never arrive, but consistent progress is still possible.
So what makes the 10% succeed? It’s having the frameworks for striking this balanced rhythm and learning how to avoid getting caught in the pitfalls of either extreme - the aimlessness of zero planning or the debilitating "analysis paralysis" of trying to blueprint every last detail years into the future. Ultimately, it’s having the tools and mindsets to confidently join the 10% who turn their purpose-driven strategic plans into genuine impact. The path forward starts here.
Do you want to learn frameworks for balancing short-term execution with long-term vision and be part of the 10% whose strategy comes to life? Join me for the free "Strategy for Impact" webinar, where I'll provide tangible tips and tools.
[1 ]https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/why-do-strategic-plans-fail
