A company held its annual conference in a hotel. A big screen, a 40-slide deck, and a title: “Next year’s strategy”. Three months later, one of its department heads was asked a simple question: “What has changed in your team’s work since the conference?” He thought for a moment and said: “Honestly, nothing. We are still measured on the same numbers.”
Where most strategies die
Not in the boardroom, and not with the staff. They die in the middle: with the manager who stands between the two.
Senior management said: “We will focus on large clients.” But the sales manager’s target was still the number of deals, not their size. The customer service manager was still assessed on response time, not on client retention. So everyone carried on doing what they were measured on. That is perfectly rational behaviour from everyone, and it means the new strategy never reached a single desk.
Why this keeps happening in Arab companies
In the region, many strategies are written at the top of the pyramid, sometimes with an outside consultant, presented at a big event, and then passed down to departments as instructions rather than as a conversation. Middle managers, who know the daily detail, rarely take part in shaping them. And in a culture where it is hard for a manager to tell their boss “this goal contradicts the KPI I am measured on”, the gap between words and execution stays silent.
In family businesses especially, strategy stalls when important decisions stay concentrated with the founder or family members, so managers lack the authority to change what the strategy actually requires.
Strategy is not executed with a slide deck
It is executed when three things change in people’s daily working lives:
- What they are measured on: KPIs, targets and incentives. If the measure stays the same, behaviour stays the same.
- Where they spend their time: meetings, reports and weekly priorities. If the manager’s calendar has not changed, the strategy has not started.
- What they are rewarded and promoted for: who gets promoted a year from now? The team watches that question more closely than any presentation.
If these three do not change, what was announced at the conference was a wish, not a strategy.
What to do if you announced a strategy this year
- Translate every strategic goal into a change in a KPI. “Focus on large clients” means changing the sales target from number of deals to account value.
- Involve middle managers in shaping it, not only in executing it. They are the ones who turn strategy into daily work, and the first who need new targets.
- Make it safe to object. Ask every manager: “Which KPI in your department contradicts this strategy?” and thank whoever answers honestly.
- Review progress every month with one question: “What did we do differently this month because of the strategy?” If there is no answer, execution has stopped.
Ask a middle manager “what has changed in your work since the strategy was announced?” Their answer is the real assessment of your strategy.
Frequently asked questions
Why do strategies fail in execution?
Because KPIs, incentives and time priorities stay the same after the strategy is announced, so people keep doing what they are measured on. The gap usually shows up with middle managers.
What is the role of middle management in strategy execution?
They turn goals into daily work and weekly priorities. If they are not involved in shaping the strategy and their KPIs do not change, the strategy stops with them.
How do I know whether my company’s strategy is actually being executed?
Ask every month: what did we do differently because of the strategy? And check whether KPIs, incentives and meeting calendars have actually changed.
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