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I need everyone to give me their best ideas

When was the last time you heard someone outside the executive team talk about the strategy, unprompted, and with clarity and belief?A strategy can be clear on paper, but what makes it truly compelling is how it’s shared and reinforced so people understamd it, believe it and act on it. Many organisations nail the design but neglect the delivery, forgetting that connection is what turns strategy into execution.I’ve seen too many organisations stop at a single announcement: a launch event, a glossy one-pager, a town hall, assuming the message has landed. But without continual reinforcement, it fades. People quickly slip back to old routines, unsure how the strategy connects to their work. As one executive told me in my research: “We had a strategy, but no one explained it clearly or often enough for people to live it.”Strategy becomes compelling when it’s communicated consistently and in ways that resonate. The real test: do people hear it, understand it, remember it, and repeat it? and do they see what this means for them?&nbsp;Neurocognitive research shows someone needs to hear a new message at least three to seven times before it truly registers. What drives retention is repeated exposure in varied contexts, hearing the same idea through stories, visuals, and examples, and spacing those messages over time to strengthen recall.McKinsey notes that the best organisations cut through noise with simple, repeated narratives that leaders embody every day. Many executives treat strategy communication as an afterthought, which is why even senior managers struggle to recall their priorities.What I’ve seen work is when organisations use multiple mechanisms to reinforce: leaders tell the story often and consistently; visuals and roadmaps to make connections tangible; workshops to explore “what does this mean for us?”; and check-ins where progress is tracked and understood across the business. The roadmap from translation (Post 3 in this lever) becomes the anchor, but the real magic lies in how it’s communicated.Communication gets treated as the last slide of the strategy process rather than part of the design. Building the rollout, the narrative and the reinforcement into the plan from the start is what <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/strategic-planning" href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/strategic-planning">Strategic Planning</a> covers.<h3>So, what makes a strategy compelling?</h3><ul><li>People understand it and leaders have the skills to share it: plain, human language, not corporate code.</li><li>They see why choices were made: the logic, trade-offs, and purpose behind them.</li><li>They can connect it to their work: through conversations that make it real.</li><li>They hear it often: through leaders who repeat and live the message until it sticks.</li><li>And the organisation reinforces it: embedding strategy in planning, recognition, and routines so it endures.</li></ul>This is part of lever 2 (Strategic Clarity &amp; Alignment) of the Strategy Execution by Design Model. <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model">See the full framework →</a>Not sure which of the seven conditions is holding your execution back? <a data-mce-href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Take the Strategy Execution Maturity Model Assessment →</a>Written by <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/about" href="https://rebeccareti.com/about">Rebecca Reti</a>, strategy and execution consultant working with boards and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand.<a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-strategicclarity-activity-7381908816008982528-mMxO" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-strategicclarity-activity-7381908816008982528-mMxO">Engage with this post on LinkedIn →</a>

What makes a strategy people actually commit to?

Businesswoman writing on sticky notes during a brainstorming session

Has your strategy been translated into one integrated plan, or is every function running its own version?A key theme over half of all Executives I interviewed shared, was the lack of collective planning occurring in their organisations, after strategy development. Rather, each business area tended to focus on what naturally sat within its remit, in isolation.&nbsp;But strategy rarely lives neatly within one function.Translation is the work of turning strategy into a coherent roadmap of what will be done, by when, and it’s where execution most often breaks down.&nbsp;Translation is not about drafting next year’s business plan; it’s about looking across the full strategic horizons and setting out the pathway for delivery. That means being clear on what needs to happen, by when, so each function can define what the strategy means for them and identify the capabilities, skills, and resources they’ll need to deliver it.Without cross-functional translation, interdependencies are missed, and initiatives collide or leave gaps. When done well, translation delivers three things: &nbsp;• Clarity and alignment on what needs to be true: the conditions, activities, resources, and capabilities required to deliver the strategy. &nbsp;• A foundation for business planning: informing budgets, resourcing, and priorities around one coherent path. &nbsp;• A tool for communication: making the strategy easier to explain, share, and connect to people’s daily work.Andrew MacLennan, one of the few scholars to focus explicitly on strategy translation, describes it as the critical bridge between strategy design and operational delivery. McKinsey’s research also validated this, sharing that organisations that outperform, excel at mobilising execution by creating integrated roadmaps that connect choices to actions.My research found the same, when organisations invested in translation as a discipline, execution gained pace and alignment deepened. When they didn’t, silos were evident, priorities clashed, and trust in leadership eroded.Translation gets skipped because it belongs to everyone and nobody. Each function can plan its own part competently, and the plan still won't add up. Building the one integrated pathway, across horizons rather than across a financial year, is what <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/strategic-planning" href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/strategic-planning">Strategic Planning </a>is for.<h3>So, what can organisations do differently?</h3><ul><li>&nbsp;Define translation as a discipline: it’s not a nice to do, it’s the bridge between ambition and action.</li><li>Start with shared understanding: ensure leaders have the same picture of success and what’s in or out of scope</li><li>Define the pathway logic: clarify how choices connect to outcomes, to initiatives and activities, this uncovers the conditions, enablers, and sequencing.</li><li>Look across horizons: go beyond the annual plan and set a pathway across each strategic horizon and what must be achieved to unlock each horizon.</li></ul>Translation turns strategy from intent into a system people can own and deliver. This is part of lever 2 (Strategic Clarity &amp; Alignment) of the Strategy Execution by Design Model. <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model">See the full framework →</a>Not sure which of the seven conditions is holding your execution back? <a data-mce-href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Take the Strategy Execution Maturity Model Assessment →</a>Written by <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/about" href="https://rebeccareti.com/about">Rebecca Reti,</a> strategy and execution consultant working with boards and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand.<a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-leadership-activity-7381176466224566272-63sY" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-leadership-activity-7381176466224566272-63sY">Engage with this post on LinkedIn →</a>

How do you turn strategy into something teams can act on?

So, you've defined your Strategy, but how well is your organisation aligned to deliver it?Execution depends not just on the quality of the strategy, but on whether your internally and externally 'fit' to deliver it.Many years ago, I was consulting for a government agency. They'd moved from strategy development straight into delivery. The challenge: each leader interpreted the strategy differently, designing initiatives that conflicted and pulled in opposing directions. Staff were frustrated. What was missing was a bridge between ambition and action - what strategic management calls fit.🔹 Internal fit is the degree of coherence inside the organisation. Do resources, structures, processes, and culture reinforce each other to support strategy? Without it, effort fragments, decisions slow, and teams lose focus.🔹 External fit is alignment with the outside environment, customers, competitors, regulators, technology, risks, and opportunities. It keeps strategy relevant, adaptive, and competitive. Without it, organisations execute efficiently on the wrong things: projects get delivered, but strategy drifts out of step with reality.Fit is the goal; the operating model is how it comes to life. It's the blueprint that turns strategic intent into how the organisation actually works, both internally and externally. Internally, it translates goals into processes, systems, and ways of working so people know what to do. Externally, it shapes how the organisation presents itself to the market and adapts to changing conditions.Execution succeeds or fails on the strength of fit. McKinsey highlights that bridging the gap between strategy and operating model is essential to deliver at pace. Nicolaj Siggelkow introduced dynamic fit, recognising that alignment can't be static; it must evolve as markets shift. My research echoed these insights: executives were most frustrated when projects weren't aligned to the future state (internal misfit) or when strategy stayed static as the environment evolved. In contrast, organisations that invested in both saw execution accelerate.The cost of misfit is real. Without internal fit, silos optimise for themselves and execution fragments. Without external fit, the organisation delivers efficiently on the wrong things. Without both, competitive advantage erodes.Most organisations treat fit as something that either happens or doesn't. It's a design decision. The structure, the decision rights and the ways of working either reinforce the strategy or quietly work against it, and that's what <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/operating-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/operating-model" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Operating Model</a> exists to fix.So, what can organisations do differently? - Define fit first: be explicit about what alignment means for your organisation, inside and out, before rushing into delivery. - Review and adjust: check that internal coherence and external positioning still hold as conditions change.With fit, the organisation is designed to deliver and positioned to adapt. That's why Strategic Clarity &amp; Alignment is a key element under Lever 2 in my Execution by Design model.This is part of lever 2 (Strategic Clarity &amp; Alignment) of the Strategy Execution by Design Model. <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model">See the full framework →</a>Not sure which of the seven conditions is holding your execution back? <a data-mce-href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/">Take the Strategy Execution Maturity Assessment →</a>Written by <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/about" href="https://rebeccareti.com/about">Rebecca Reti,</a> strategy and execution consultant working with boards and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand.<a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-strategicfit-activity-7379372120935641088--kVr" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-strategicfit-activity-7379372120935641088--kVr">Engage with this post on LinkedIn →</a>

Why good strategies fail the organisation they're in

Young Japanese businesswoman looking up with binoculars in the sky

Is your strategy clear and compelling, and truly guides decisions in your business?I've seen strategies that read: "be innovative," "drive growth," "customer centric" They sound inspiring, but they don't guide choices. As strategy expert Richard Rumelt writes, "bad strategy" is fluffy goals and wish lists; the hallmark of bad strategy is 'mistaking goals for strategy.' And I see this constantly.&nbsp;In my consulting work and research, leaders have told me that this is exactly where execution unravels. More than half of the Executives I interviewed said their organisation lacked a clear and compelling strategy resulting in people interpretting it in their own way, and initiatives ended up colliding.By contrast, strategies that gained traction were sharp and compelling, with deliberate choices about where to play, how to win, and crucially - what not to do. They were grounded in market realities, competitor moves, risks and opportunities. The choices fit together, each one reinforcing the others.A good strategy isn't about making all work "fit", that leaves people confused. The point is clarity of direction and scope, so people know which work truly matters and which doesn't.Most strategies aren't unclear because nobody thought hard enough. They're unclear because the trade-offs were never forced. Writing the document is the easy part. Getting a leadership team to agree out loud what they will not do is the work, and it's what <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/strategic-planning" href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/strategic-planning">Strategic Planning</a> is for.So, what makes a good strategy? - Insights and diagnosis: a clear view of the market, customers, risks, opportunities, and challenges in relation to your current or potential value proposition - Direction &amp; scope: long-term beliefs and mid to near-term choices - where the organisation is heading, what's in, and what's out - Advantage &amp; trade-offs: how it will win, and what it won't do - Fit &amp; coherence: choices that reinforce each other - Clear measures: how success will be tracked - Mobilisation: simple enough to explain and rally people behindGone are the days of defining strategy in isolation. The best strategies draw on insights from staff, stakeholders, and customers, and they're built to flex as conditions change.My research echoed these insights. Executives I interviewed emphasised that effective strategies were simple, clear choices with measures to assess progress. When strategies were unclear, execution faltered. Teams improvised direction, silos optimised for themselves, and trust eroded.So, what can organisations do differently? - Ground strategy in insights: involve staff, stakeholders, and customers, and build in agility to adjust - Focus the work: make the hard calls on which initiatives advance the strategy and stop the rest - Build feedback loops: test assumptions, surface blind spots early, and change course when needed - Measure what matters: track outcomes that show if choices are creating impactThis is part of lever 2 (Strategic Clarity &amp; Alignment) of the Strategy Execution by Design Model. <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model">See the full framework →</a>Not sure which of the seven conditions is holding your execution back? <a data-mce-href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Take the Strategy Execution Maturity Model Assessment →</a>Written by <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/about" href="https://rebeccareti.com/about">Rebecca Reti,</a> strategy and execution consultant working with boards and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand.<a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-leadership-activity-7378586898845581312-jjy5" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-leadership-activity-7378586898845581312-jjy5">Engage with this post on LinkedIn →</a>

Your strategy is clear to you. Is it clear to your people?

<h3>Strategy Execution by Design Series Wrap up of Lever 1: Leadership &amp; Trust</h3>After close to 20 years designing and executing business strategy, I am still surprised at how much of the literature (professional and academic) focuses on formulation rather than execution, even though execution is where success or failure is decided.This gap became the 'why' for my eMBA research, where I explored with executives of large New Zealand-based organisations the elements that enable effective strategy execution. What did I discover? Successful execution follows identifiable patterns. While every organisation is unique, there are specific levers that consistently drive results, and it's not what most organisations focus on.My research with executives revealed the elements that separate successful execution from failure. Over the past few weeks, I've shared insights on Lever 1 of my Execution by Design model: Leadership &amp; Trust, examining why trust, psychological safety, and leadership behaviours form the foundation of effective execution - check out my wrap up article attached.Execution isn't about plans or dashboards. It starts with people.When senior teams lack cohesion and confidence in one another, projects stall, priorities fragment, and energy shifts to self-protection. High-trust teams, by contrast, move faster, take on bolder goals, and adapt with resilience. Execution begins with how leaders show up with each other. Without trust, courage, cohesion, and voice at the top, execution fragments before it reaches the frontline.Leadership and trust create the foundation, but strategies still fail when teams can't answer four critical questions:&nbsp; - Where are we going?&nbsp; - Why does it matter?&nbsp; - How will we get there, and how will we know we have been successful? - What does it mean for me? Which leads me to Lever 2: Strategic Clarity &amp; Alignment - stay tuned.You can access the full Lever 1 wrap up here: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lever-1-leadership-trust-foundation-strategy-execution-rebecca-reti-rg87c" data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lever-1-leadership-trust-foundation-strategy-execution-rebecca-reti-rg87c">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lever-1-leadership-trust-foundation-strategy-execution-rebecca-reti-rg87c</a>&nbsp; Written by Rebecca Reti, Strategy &amp; Execution Consultant at Rebecca Reti Consulting.<figure id="figure-mo4zgwarjmi3wl1k7"><img id="mo4zgwarjmi3wl1k7" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/30rSPxF5MejQXCD3U5Tk4VwZVXgP1lWo0d068jLtiRhf6FlTjZDnrPVS9YPGXCV2.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/30rSPxF5MejQXCD3U5Tk4VwZVXgP1lWo0d068jLtiRhf6FlTjZDnrPVS9YPGXCV2.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure>

Wrap up of Lever 1: Leadership & Trust

When was the last time a project in your organisation stalled, not because of the plan, but because people couldn't work together?When strategy slows, we usually look at poor planning, unclear priorities, or a lack of resources first. Yes, those things definitely matter. But here's what I keep seeing: execution often comes down to something much simpler - how well people actually relate to each other.Projects get stuck because two leaders have stopped talking. Decisions sit in limbo because departments are guarding their territory. Work crawls along not because people aren't trying, but because they're not really connecting.&nbsp;Execution travels at the speed of relationships.Strong relationships don't just happen on their own - they grow from the trust and psychological safety I talked about in my last post. I'm not talking about being best friends with your colleagues. I mean the kind of trust, openness, and mutual reliance that determines how fast people share information, tackle problems together, and actually get decisions made.Cross &amp; Parker's research into organisational networks reveals an interesting finding: high performers aren't just technically sound, they're well connected across the organisation. Cândido &amp; Santos found that collaboration and relational trust matter just as much as having good processes and structure.&nbsp;When I dug into this in my own research, execution effectiveness took a nosedive wherever relationships were siloed or tense. Leaders kept telling me about cross-functional friction, unnecessary escalations, and delays stemming from weak connections rather than weak plans.Here's the thing though: relationships don't just "happen" - leaders set the tone. When leaders hunker down in their own areas, everyone else does too. When leaders demonstrate trust, remain open, and effectively manage conflict, it strengthens the entire network around them.When an executive team can't challenge each other, it's rarely about the people. It's what happens when nobody has made it safe, or expected. That's the work in <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/leadership" href="https://rebeccareti.com/services/leadership">Leadership</a>.So, what can leaders actually do differently today? - Show the kind of cross-functional connections you want others to build. - Take a look at your network - who do you depend on most, and who's depending on you? - Push for peer-to-peer collaboration and celebrate team wins, not just individual achievements. - Deal with conflict early - letting it sit makes things worse. - Create room for actual human connection - shared meals, regular check-ins, those informal moments where trust actually builds.Because execution doesn't move at the pace of your project plan. It moves at the pace of your relationships, which is really what Leadership &amp; Trust in my Execution by Design series is all about.This is part of lever 1 (Leadership &amp; Trust) of the Strategy Execution by Design Model. <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model" href="https://rebeccareti.com/execution-model">See the full framework →</a>Not sure which of the seven conditions is holding your execution back? <a data-mce-href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" href="https://sebdsnapshot.rebeccareti.com/" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Take the Strategy Execution Maturity Model Assessment →</a>Written by <a data-mce-href="https://rebeccareti.com/about" href="https://rebeccareti.com/about">Rebecca Reti</a>, strategy and execution consultant working with boards and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand.<a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-changeleadership-activity-7374245799448391680-1jAG?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAAhmYsQBKppHDyfPTxqHXXgP5MmXRjB7WJs" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_executionbydesign-strategyexecution-changeleadership-activity-7374245799448391680-1jAG?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAAhmYsQBKppHDyfPTxqHXXgP5MmXRjB7WJs">Engage with this post on LinkedIn →</a>

Why executive relationships decide how fast you move

Rebecca Reti Consulting

Rebecca Reti Consulting is a boutique strategy execution consultancy based in Brisbane, working with CEOs, boards, and executive teams across Australia and New Zealand. We help leaders build the conditions for effective execution through four service areas: Strategy and Planning, Execution and Delivery, Leadership and Culture, and Training Programs. Our proprietary Strategy Execution by Design (SEBD) framework bridges the gap between strategic intent and measurable outcomes.