Your Strategy Isn’t the Problem. Your Execution Is.

by David. Hermann , CEO of hermanngroup and M&A Advisor/Licensed Broker at Sunbelt Business Brokers of Colorado

“We Just Need a Better Strategy…”

I was sitting in the boardroom of a mid-market services firm, listening to the executive team wrestle with their fourth consecutive quarter of flat growth. The charts were polished. The PowerPoint was thorough. The strategy was…fine.

Then came the refrain I’ve heard too many times:

“Maybe we just need a better strategy.”

I asked one simple question:

“Did you actually execute the last strategy?”

Silence.

What followed was a collective shoulder shrug. Key initiatives hadn’t moved. The team hadn’t aligned. No one was holding the reins. It wasn’t that the plan had failed. It had never actually left the whiteboard.

This is the hidden dysfunction plaguing so many organizations: they keep changing the map because they’re unwilling to follow it.

The Strategy-Execution Gap

The execution gap isn’t new, but it’s growing. In today’s complex, volatile markets, it’s easier than ever to fetishize strategy and neglect discipline.

Strategy feels intellectual. Visionary. Safe.

Execution? That’s gritty. Messy. Exposing.

But here’s the truth: an average strategy, well executed, beats a brilliant strategy half-executed every time.

Ninety percent of business value is created not in the war room but in the trenches.

Why Leaders Over-Index on Strategy

Leaders like to plan because it creates an illusion of control. It gives them language to talk to boards, investors, and employees. Planning sessions are clean. Tactical realities are not.

But this obsession with perfecting the blueprint causes paralysis. Every deviation feels like failure. Every obstacle becomes a reason to redraw the plan.

The result? The team constantly resetting but never building momentum.

What Execution-First Thinking Looks Like

When we work with clients at HermannGroup, we don’t start by overhauling strategy. We start by asking:

• What part of the current strategy was never fully executed?

• Where are the handoffs breaking down?

• Who owns what—and who’s actually accountable?

We turn the microscope not on the plan, but on the machinery.

Because nine times out of ten, the issue isn’t directional, it’s operational.

Stop redesigning the wheel when what you need is to put air in the tires

A Real-World Reframe

One manufacturing client had invested six months building an impressive new go-to-market strategy. But revenue kept missing the mark.

The real problem?

• Sales was working from the old pitch deck.

• Marketing hadn’t updated campaign copy.

• Ops was still optimizing for last year’s client profile.

We didn’t scrap the strategy. We fixed the execution layers. Within two quarters, they were ahead of forecast.

Executing Isn’t About Hustle. It’s About Design

The best-executing teams don’t work harder. They work cleaner. They eliminate ambiguity, shorten feedback loops, and prioritize what actually moves the needle.

And critically: they don’t confuse activity for progress. A dozen meetings and Slack messages won’t replace a clear objective, owned by a real person, tracked with real data.

Why This Matters Now

In economic downturns or investor pullbacks, companies don’t die from lack of strategy. They die from slow, uneven, or politically diluted execution.

They zig when they should zag. They change direction mid-sprint. They mistake brainstorming for building.

The world doesn’t reward the best ideas. It rewards the best follow-through.

A Better Way Forward

If you want to create value fast, don’t start with reinvention.

Start with implementation. Ask:

• What do we already know we should be doing—but aren’t?

• Where are we drifting because ownership is unclear?

• What’s one thing we could fully execute in the next 30 days?

You may find your next “big breakthrough” was sitting on your desk the whole time—ignored, unread, un-shipped.

Which part of your strategy needs less thinking and more doing?

Please drop a comment…I’d love to hear where execution is stalling for you.

Post-Script | Metaphor

The scaffolding around a skyscraper doesn’t make it taller. It makes it buildable. Your execution layer is the scaffolding. Without it, even the boldest designs go nowhere.

David. Hermann is a transformative healthcare executive and strategist with a remarkable ability to catalyze organizational growth and efficiency. As a trusted advisor to C-suite executives, David has led initiatives resulting in more than $500 million in documented financial improvements for his clients. A recognized thought leader, he has delivered 60+ speaking engagements, authored numerous publications, and ranks in the top 1% of Consulting Voices on LinkedIn, making him a go-to expert in strategy, change leadership and operations.