Strategic Planning and Its Execution: The Great Challenge for Companies
It’s not enough to have a good strategy on paper. The evidence is clear: according to McKinsey & Company (2024), only 30% of strategic initiatives actually achieve the expected results, and the reason, most of the time, lies in execution failure. Harvard Business Review (2024) reinforces this picture by showing that 60% of companies admit they cannot translate their strategy into clear, measurable plans. In this context, MIT Sloan Management Review (2025) points to a way forward: organizations that adopt practices such as OKRs and PDCA can be up to 40% more consistent in execution.
The Main Obstacles in the Transition from Strategic Planning Vision to Execution
Executives at large organizations know that crafting a good strategy isn’t enough; the real challenge lies in turning it into concrete results. The main obstacles include the disconnect between strategy and operational reality, the absence of clear metrics to measure progress, faulty communication across hierarchical levels, and an organizational culture that resists change. When left unaddressed, these factors fuel the so-called “execution gap”—the distance between what is decided and what is actually delivered.
- Strategy disconnected from operational reality.
- Lack of clear metrics to track progress.
- Faulty communication across hierarchical levels.
- Culture resistant to change.
Frameworks that help transform strategic planning into execution
To narrow this gap, leaders can rely on management frameworks that have proven effective across different business contexts. Renowned authors such as Kaplan and Norton argue that the Balanced Scorecard is an essential tool for translating vision into clear objectives and performance indicators. John Doerr popularized OKRs, highlighting the value of setting quarterly focus on verifiable results to drive agility and alignment. Finally, Deming cemented PDCA as a practical cycle of continuous improvement, ensuring that daily routines stay connected to strategic priorities.
- Balanced Scorecard: translates vision into objectives and indicators.
- OKRs: quarterly focus on verifiable results.
- PDCA: a continuous improvement cycle applied to daily routines.
How to transition from strategic to operational
The first step is to define a few strategic priorities—three to five—to ensure focus and avoid spreading resources too thin. From there, it’s essential to cascade tactical OKRs into annual and quarterly cycles, ensuring continuous alignment across teams and clarity on expected outcomes.
To sustain this alignment, action plans must be tied to objective KPIs, enabling precise progress tracking and rapid identification of deviations. At the operational level, discipline comes from implementing PDCA routines, which turn each deviation into an opportunity for structured correction. Finally, a management cycle only grows stronger when there is room for constant feedback and learning loops, creating an organization capable of adapting and evolving continuously.
- Define strategic priorities (3–5).
- Cascade into annual and quarterly tactical OKRs.
- Link action plans to clear KPIs.
- Implement PDCA routines at the operational level.
- Reinforce feedback and learning loops.
Practical Examples of Consistent Execution
- Retail: leadership vision in e-commerce; execution through delivery plans, daily NPS, and abandoned cart monitoring.
- Industry: sustainability vision; execution with energy-efficiency targets, weekly PDCA at plants, and CO₂ reporting.
From Vision to Results
Therefore, turning strategic planning into execution is not a one-time event but a disciplined process of choices, metrics, and routines. Companies that connect their planning layers reduce the execution gap and increase resilience.
Next steps
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