HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically (HBR Guide Series)

CHAPTER 25

How the Most Successful Teams Bridge the Strategy-to-Execution Gap

by Nathan Wiita and Orla Leonard

The strategy-to-execution gap is an enduring problem with no easy solution. As the Japanese proverb goes, “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” Paul Leinwand and his coauthors, in chapter 24 of this guide and elsewhere, have outlined what senior leaders must do to close the strategy-to-execution gap. We built on this research by going beyond the lens of the individual leader to investigate how the most successful teams bridge the gap. We wanted to unpack the how by identifying what sets these teams apart in terms of how they spend their time and the critical behaviors they engage in. To do this, ...