Strategy execution is where even the best-laid plans often fall short. Turning vision into results takes prioritization, clarity, leadership, and the agility to adapt along the way. At Insight Experience, we’ve worked with leaders across industries who face the same core challenge: bridging the gap between strategic intent and daily execution.
Over the years, Ned Wasniewski, a managing partner at Insight Experience and a global leader in simulation-based management education, has shared practical insights on this very challenge. With more than 20 years of experience designing and delivering leadership development programs for organizations around the world, Ned brings deep perspective to what it really takes to execute strategy effectively. The three posts featured here reflect some of his clearest thinking, and they still resonate today.
1. Why Executing Strategy Requires More Than Just a Plan
Published in 2021, "What Is Strategy Execution and Why Is It Important for Leaders?" is a foundational post and defines strategy execution as “the effective and timely execution of organizational activities that align with, reinforce, and support strategy.” It walks through the Insight Experience Cycle of Strategy Execution™, pictured below, emphasizing that execution isn’t a linear process—but a dynamic one requiring clarity, alignment, and communication at every stage.
Ned frames execution as a core leadership responsibility, one that goes beyond simply following through on plans. He emphasizes the importance of understanding strategic context, setting aligned priorities, and ensuring teams have the capabilities to deliver and adapt as conditions evolve.
“The effective execution of strategy differentiates the winners from the chronic underperformers in business. Failure to execute strategy may threaten a company’s survival, let alone its success in the marketplace.”
2. How Prioritization Can Make or Break Strategy Execution
Drawing on years of experience facilitating simulation-based leadership development, Ned explores one of the most common challenges in execution: choosing what not to do. In "The Importance of Prioritization in Executing Strategy," published in 2020, he shares the hard-earned lesson that successful leaders must have the discipline to focus—and the courage to say no.
Ned outlines practical best practices for setting and revisiting priorities, pushing back when appropriate, sequencing work to avoid overload, and sunsetting initiatives that no longer deliver value. These strategies, he argues, are not just operational. They are essential leadership behaviors in environments where opportunity exceeds capacity.
“Leaders consistently face more opportunities than they have resources to pursue.”
3. Why Understanding Strategy Is the First Step Toward Executing It
Originally published in 2014, "Executing Strategy Begins With Understanding" remains just as relevant today, if not more so. Ned addresses the foundational (and often underestimated) starting point of strategy execution: understanding. Before leaders can translate strategy into action, they must fully grasp the broader strategic direction and be able to clearly articulate it to their teams.
Ned introduces a simple yet powerful framework based on three key components of strategy: objective, scope, and advantage. These elements help leaders test decisions against strategic intent, foster team alignment, and build the shared understanding necessary for effective execution.
"If a company's leaders can't articulate strategy, then how can anyone else?"
Bonus Resource: Is Your Strategy Execution at Risk?
Wondering how your organization is really doing with execution? Our new Strategy Execution Health Check is a quick, practical tool to help you assess gaps, spot red flags, and take action. It outlines five common warning signs—from misaligned decision-making to outdated tools—and provides clear, actionable next steps based on the Insight Experience Strategy Execution Model™.
Explore the Strategy Execution Health Check.
Ready to build your team's strategy execution capabilities? Learn more about our Executing Strategy offering, and then contact us to start the conversation.
