White Papers

Confronting the Conundrum:
Aligning Strategic Execution from Long-Term Performance

Andy Mayfield, Vice President, North Highland

The leaders of America's top companies face a serious problem that affects every aspect of their performance. Every year, these companies launch new strategic initiatives aimed at growing the bottom line – and every year, the majority struggle to deliver on the desired expectations.

Multiple sources have observed that the vast majority of these failures are not limited to leadership issues but are often the result of both leadership challenges and a corporate environment that breeds failure. Unfortunately, an organization that is not focused on execution – even one with the strongest executives – will rarely succeed.

At the other end of the performance spectrum, however, there are companies that have created an environment where their strategic intents succeed at a far greater rate. In those cases, credit for success is often attributed to the culture of the organization as a whole, and likely identified and acknowledged enthusiastically by its leadership.

What is the difference between success and failure for these companies?