If you’ve left your previous “strategy offsite” feeling like you just finished a budgeting meeting with better catering, it was likely exactly that and not about strategy at all. Most leadership teams don’t actually do strategy. They do planning and call it strategy. Not because they’re lazy or ignorant but because they’ve built habits around what they think strategy is. Those habits feel productive, even responsible. Unfortunately, they create the illusion of strategic leadership while keeping companies trapped in cycles of short-term thinking. Here are the seven most common lies leaders tell themselves about strategy, and what to do once you realize you’ve been telling one (or several) of them.
Lie #1: “Our annual planning process is our strategy.”
This is the biggest lie of all, and the most seductive. It feels strategic because you’re defining initiatives and allocating budgets. But none of that is strategy. Planning and budgeting answer the “who does what by when” and “how we’re paying for it.” Strategy answers “where do we play and what are the big choices to win.” Those are fundamentally different questions and need entirely different conversations. To avoid this lie, separate your strategy work from planning and budgeting cycles and ask: What kind of company are we building? Once that’s clear, the annual plan becomes a vehicle to execute the strategy, not a substitute for it.
Lie #2: “Strategy is about setting ambitious goals.”
Ambition is important but “grow by 20%” or “double our customer base” are outcomes, not strategy. Goals without strategy set teams up to chase numbers without understanding why those numbers matter. Instead ask: “What competitive position are we trying to create that makes this goal meaningful?” A true strategy defines the position you want in the market and the logic for how you’ll win and not “how fast” or “how much” you’ll grow.
Lie #3: “We’re being strategic because we’re adapting fast.”
Speed is not strategy. Agility helps you adjust to circumstances, but if you’re constantly reacting, you don’t lead – you’re only surviving. Still, many leaders say, “We pivot quickly,” when what they really mean is, “We’re improvising our way through chaos.” Stop “pivoting” and build a clear strategic framework that allows flexibility within direction. You can’t predict the future, but you can define the principles that will guide your choices when things change. With that approach you remain agile and you avoid being erratic.
Lie #4: “Everyone on the executive team understands our strategy.”
Ask each member of your leadership team to explain the strategy and you might get more answers than you have members on the team. In fact, lack of leadership alignment is one of the most common reasons strategies fail. A strategy only lives if it’s understood and owned by the people expected to execute it. And that starts on the top. In your next leadership team meeting, individually write down the strategy in your own words (no more than 5 sentences). The level of variation tells you how much work you still have to do. Simplify your core messages until everyone can repeat and understand them. That’s the start of cohesive strategy communication.
Lie #5: “We’re customer-focused, so our strategy writes itself.”
Customers can tell you what they want today; they can’t tell you what future value you should create. When you follow their demands too closely, you risk becoming a reflection of your customers’ needs instead of defining and occupying your niche. Listen to your customers, but don’t let them steer the ship. Combine customer insight with strategic foresight: where the world is heading, how technology and regulation might shift the game, and where your company is uniquely positioned to create advantage.
Lie #6: “Execution is someone else’s problem.”
Many senior leaders don’t see the daily work of strategy execution as their responsibility. Once the slides are done, they’re handed to the organization for implementation. And when execution inevitably fails, they blame “poor follow-through” instead of recognizing the real issue: their own lack of leadership. This scenario is very common for executive teams who outsource responsibility for strategy to some consulting company. Instead, treat execution as part of strategy design. When crafting strategy, ask, Can we actually do this with our current capabilities, culture, and leadership capacity? If not, build the cultural core and execution edge as part of the strategy.
Lie #7: “We’ve done strategy before; we just need to refresh it.”
When you “refresh” a strategy that was designed for a different time, a different market, even a different business model you tweak goals, update KPIs, and maybe add a buzzword about AI. But fundamentally, nothing changes. Refreshing feels safe. Reinventing feels risky. But I promise you that failing to rethink your strategic foundation is the bigger risk. You should always challenge past assumptions: If we were starting from scratch today, would we design our straegy the same way? If the answer is no, your “refresh” is just setting yourself up for failure.
The Hard Truth
If any of these lies sound familiar, don’t beat yourself up. Every leader I know, myself included, has fallen into them at some point. The real test of leadership is what you do once you recognize the lies. That means separating strategy from planning. It means talking less about growth targets and more about impact and positioning, and facing the messy, uncomfortable questions that come with true strategic thinking. Questions that don’t have easy answers, but lead to better decisions.
Great strategy isn’t complicated. Think about it as a way toward clarity and courage: clarity about what you’re trying to build and courage to make the choices that others won’t.
Contact us to discuss how a tailored strategy process could look like for your business.