From Strategy to Execution: Where Your 2026 Plan Will Crumble (And How to Fix It)

Every year starts with the same script. Leadership rallies around glossy strategy decks, sets bold goals, and leaves the room convinced: this year will be different.

Then Q1 ends. And the drift begins.

Most strategies fail for one brutally simple reason: We’re better at designing plans than actually doing them. Implementation is the hardest task.

Here are the five predictable points where execution derails—and some simple frameworks that can get you back on track.

1. Too Many “Top Priorities” = Zero Progress

We all preach focus. But strategies often land as a laundry list of “critical” initiatives. When everything’s a priority, nothing is.  This is because resources are stretched paper-thin, teams unsure where to even start, and momentum stalls.

The fix? Strategy means saying no. If your leaders can’t rattle off the top three priorities without a slide, you’re already in trouble.

A framework that will help: Roger Martin’s Strategic Choice Cascade (take a look at an earlier blog in this library which shows how a strategy is broken into five interconnected questions: What is our winning aspiration? Where will we play? How will we win? What capabilities must we have? What management systems do we need?

2. “The Committee Owns It” = No One Owns It

“We’ll handle this as a team” sounds collaborative. But it’s often code for: no single person is on the hook. Execution needs a single name, not a group email.

A framework that will help:  The RACI framework will clarify roles and responsibilities using the acronym: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed, ie defining who does the work, who approves it, who provides input, and who gets updates, to

3. Metrics That Measure Everything… And Change Nothing

Tracking 50 KPIs doesn’t mean you’re executing well. This is because metrics look backward, not forward and teams game their own numbers at the expense of the big goal.

A framework that will help:  The OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework is a popular goal-setting system for organizations to define ambitious goals (Objectives) and track measurable progress (Key Results) quarterly, promoting focus, alignment, and agility across company, team, and individual levels

4. The Grand Plan Meets the Daily Grind

People get bogged down with day to day issues and strategy is only talked about in quarterly off-sites.

A framework that will help: try the Business Model Canvas that brings together all the daily weekly issues into a grand plan.

5. Analysis Paralysis Kills Momentum

In uncertainty, the instinct is to slow down—gather more data, get more alignment. But today, speed is strategy. Execution advantage comes from decision velocity, not perfect certainty.

Smart organizations know which decisions are irreversible (go slow) and which can be tested and adjusted (go fast). When everything feels like a high-stakes bet, progress dies.

A framework that will help: Try the 70% rule - most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70 percent of the information you wish you had. Don't aim for 100% or even 90%. Business is never that certain.

Your Execution Checklist for 2026

Forget whether your strategy is bold enough. Ask instead: Is our organization built to deliver it?

Run this quick diagnostic:

1. Do we have 3 clear priorities, not 10?

2. Is there one name behind each?

3. Do our metrics drive daily behaviour?

4. Have we changed how we operate to match the plan?

5. Are we deciding fast enough?

Strategies don’t fail for lack of insight. They fail because execution is left to chance. Spot these gaps now, and this year doesn’t have to repeat the last.