5 Reasons your Strategy Stalled Out – and How to Jump Start It
February 27, 2025 | By David M. Wagner
I’ve heard the story so many times by now:
“We crafted an amazing strategy. But nothing changed.”
Strategies take time and resources to develop. So it can feel like a big waste when they don’t lead to results.
But there’s still hope!
You can give new life to your plan by diagnosing the reason it sputtered and applying the right fix.
Here are five common reasons strategies stall out:
1. Action without Inspiration
If your strategy reads like list of to-dos or a litany of everyone’s job, it may be missing the “why” of your identity.
As a result, it may not offer much inspiration for your stakeholders.
Take the time to craft a bold vision for your organization – including both your enduring identity and your intermediate-term goals. Then connect your plan to that vision, adjusting if needed.
2. Non-specificity
The opposite of #1…your plan lays out a compelling vision but leaves the “how” as an exercise for the reader. That leads to confusion or frustration for those charged with carrying it out.
Build an action plan to realize your vision – complete with specific goals, initiatives, tasks, dates, responsibilities, and budgets.
3. Implementers aren’t bought in
If your vision and action plan are clear, but your team still isn’t on board, find out why.
Often, “doers” weren’t part of the planning process. The result is a plan that is unrealistic or misaligned with the organization’s strengths and culture.
Identify who’s responsible for carrying out the initiatives in your plan. Ask them for advice – are these the right goals? How would you go about achieving them? How could the plan be more realistic? What support would the team need to make it happen?
You’ll get a more realistic plan and their buy-in.
4. Scope exceeds capacity
Maybe your vision exceeded what your staffing, partnerships, or budgets will support. Or perhaps your plan’s initiatives require more project management skills and infrastructure than you’ve needed before.
Invest in building your team’s capacity to manage the work. Then scale down your initiatives to something your team is confident they can achieve first (see #3). Remember that starting small can still lead to big impact.
5. Circumstances have changed
Your strategy just might not fit reality anymore. Many organizations encountered this dilemma when COVID-19 disrupted their plans. Take an honest look at what you said you would do (and why) and consider what still makes sense.
Rather than rewriting huge chunks of your plan, look for what has stayed the same (like your enduring identity), give longer timelines for initiatives that still make sense (just not right now), and fill in the gaps to address what’s changed since you wrote the plan.
Even a stalled-out strategy can still add value with the right adjustments. Talk with me about how I can help pull your plan out of the mud and get your team back on board.