Boards spend considerable time debating strategy and comparatively little time testing whether it is being delivered. By the time underperformance shows up in the results, it is often a year too late to change course cheaply.
Five early signals
- Resource allocation looks the same as it did before the new strategy was approved.
- Milestones are reported as on track, but leading indicators are not reported at all.
- The same few executives own every critical initiative.
- Trade-offs are deferred rather than made.
- Management updates describe activity, not outcomes.
A strategy that does not change where money and talent go is not a strategy. It is a presentation.
What directors can do
Directors do not need to manage execution, but they should insist on seeing it. That means agreeing a small set of leading indicators at the time a strategy is approved, reviewing resource shifts explicitly, and reserving time each quarter for an honest conversation about what is not working.
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