This article was translated from Danish using AI
Does your strategy live in your stories and actions?
The myth of the masterplan
When you hear the word strategy, what comes to mind? Many people still think of rigid five-year plans, endless PowerPoint slides and executives who believe they are playing chess with the market. Strategy is often understood as a rational prediction of the future.
But what if that idea is not just incomplete, but actually a recipe for failure? What if the secret behind effective strategy is not flawless planning, but the ability to navigate the messy, unpredictable reality that organisations are always part of?
Here are five surprising truths about strategy that turn the traditional picture upside down.
1. Your strategy plan will fail. Almost certainly
Let us start with the uncomfortable truth: most strategy plans do not unfold as expected. Studies point to failure rates between 50 and 90 per cent. Not necessarily because the strategies are poor, but because the world is unpredictable, and even the most well-thought-through plans often fall apart at the first encounter with reality.
A good example is an organisation I am working with at the moment. Back in 2023, they launched a 2030 vision and a three-year strategy with all the usual fanfare. The vision still stands as a strong point of direction, but the execution has required several adjustments along the way. Not least because developments in AI have created new opportunities to support customers in ways that were difficult to see just a few years ago.
At the same time, the organisation has moved from four strategic themes with a matching structure to working today with two new strategic “super themes”. That has created both focus and clarity and shows, in practice, that strategy always needs to be adapted along the way.
The point is not to give up, but to accept the fragility of the plan. Strategy is not about writing a document for the archive. It is about navigating a changing world through constant learning, adaptation and improvisation.
2. Strategy is not a plan. It is a story
If strategy is not just a plan, then what is it?
An effective strategy consists of two things: a clear logic such as direction, goals and priorities, and a story that makes the whole thing meaningful.
It is the story that brings people together, creates commitment and builds a sense of shared purpose. The role of the strategist is therefore not only to analyse, but also to be a storyteller who connects past, present and future.
A good example is Steve Jobs. When he launched the iPod, he could have talked about storage capacity and gigabytes. But instead he said: “A thousand songs in your pocket.” With that simple story, he turned a technical specification into something everyone could understand and want to be part of.
So strategy is not just a dry analytical exercise. It is a creative act: creating meaning and mobilising people through stories that make the goal worth striving for.
3. Your success can become your biggest trap
We love success. But success can also be dangerous. It can create confidence, complacency and rigidity. Take Icarus from Greek mythology, who flew so high that the sun melted the wax in his wings and he fell into the sea. In the same way, yesterday’s winning strategy can become tomorrow’s weakness.
History is full of examples:
- Nokia dominated the mobile market, but underestimated how quickly smartphones would change the rules of the game.
- Kodak actually invented the digital camera, but stayed loyal to film because that was where the money was.
- Blockbuster turned down the chance to buy Netflix and held on to its successful business model until streaming made it irrelevant.
What they have in common is that what was once a strength became a weakness. Success can create tunnel vision and an almost blind belief that what worked yesterday will also work tomorrow.
Staying strong therefore requires the courage to reinvent yourself. That is difficult, but necessary.
4. You do not choose your values. They reveal themselves in your actions
Many organisations spend time on “values programmes” and glossy posters with words like integrity, innovation and teamwork. But real values are not something you simply decide to have.
They show up in practice. In the difficult choices. When it costs something. When compromises have to be made.
I remember a sales meeting at one organisation where “equality” stood proudly as one of the core values on roll-ups and posters in the canteen. At the same time, the executive team had reserved the parking spaces closest to the main entrance and had their own private lunch room. When I asked about the signal that sent, they thanked me for the observation and assured me that it would of course be changed. I never heard from them again.
It is a classic example of the fact that values are not created by posters, but revealed in practice. The organisation’s true culture becomes visible when there is a gap between words and actions.
5. Big goals are often best reached at an angle
Here comes one of life’s great paradoxes: the more directly you pursue the most complex and desirable goals, the harder they often are to reach. The economist John Anderson Kay called this obliquity: some goals are best achieved indirectly.
One personal example was when we built the consultancy Ugilic. It was never done with financial growth in mind. We wanted to create a different kind of home for like-minded consultants and make a real difference for our clients and their people. Without growth targets or other financial ambitions, we still managed to grow to 15 consultants and generate more than DKK 100 million in revenue in just seven years.
It was only when growth itself became a theme, and some people in the leadership team began to see it as a goal in its own right, that things started to go off track.
The point is that when you chase profit or growth directly, it often slips through your fingers. But when you pursue meaning, purpose and value, results tend to follow as a natural consequence.
The strategist as storyteller, navigator and catalyst
These five truths show that strategy is not about producing a perfect plan, but about creating meaning, adaptation and action in an unpredictable reality.
When plans are always adjusted anyway, when stories create more energy than spreadsheets, when success can become a trap, when values reveal themselves through actions, and when the biggest goals are often best reached at an angle, then the role of the strategist changes too.
The storyteller: the strategist’s task is not just to analyse, but to give strategy a narrative form. Through stories, metaphors and images, a coherent narrative is created that gives direction and a sense of belonging. It is the stories that build engagement and get people to act, not the spreadsheets.
The navigator: the strategist is not an administrator of a plan, but a navigator in motion. The task is to translate the formal strategy into reality, steer the adjustments along the way and create meaning in the tension between rational logic and narrative force. The navigator accepts uncertainty and holds the course, even in headwinds.
The catalyst: the strategist does not only create structure, but energy. The role as catalyst is about inspiring, engaging and turning intentions into action. This is where creativity, innovation and transformation become concrete behaviour that moves the organisation forward.
Reflection questions for the leadership team
If strategy is to become more than a static document, it requires you to explore how it actually lives in your daily practice. Here are six questions you can use as a shared reflection in the leadership team:
- Actions vs. words Where do we see the biggest gap between our strategic words and our actual actions?
- The story If we were to describe our strategy as one coherent story, would it create meaning, energy and a sense of belonging among employees? Would they instinctively be able to retell it?
- Learning and navigation When did we last adjust course based on what we learned in practice, and how quickly are we able to do that when reality changes?
- The success trap Which of our current strengths could become weaknesses in the future if we are not paying attention?
- Obliquity and value Are we primarily chasing KPIs and financial targets directly, or are we first creating meaning and value from which the results can then grow?
- Engagement How do we invite employees more broadly into the strategy process, so that we are not only deciding from the top, but also tapping into the energy and engagement of the organisation as a whole?
Try discussing these six questions in your leadership team. They reveal very quickly how alive your strategy really is.
What stories are you telling?
In the end, strategy is a deeply human discipline. It is not about controlling resources, but about creating meaning, movement and value. And people are not moved by frameworks and spreadsheets, but by purpose, relationships and a compelling story.
So the question is: what story is your organisation actually telling through its actions?
Image credit: Unsplash.com