“Our strategy is great in theory – but somehow nothing is happening.”
Sounds familiar?
Welcome to the club of strategy developers who ignore the strategic triangle. You are one of the 90% of managers who think that strategy is a solo instrument.
Spoiler alert: it isn't.
Back in the 1990s, it was already clear what causes most strategy projects to fail today: strategy, structure, and culture must work together. Like a triangle. If one side falls away, the whole building collapses.
The drama in three acts that I experience almost weekly:
Act 1: The brilliant strategy The CEO emerges from the strategy “retreat,” eyes shining: “We have THE solution!” Fifty slides, perfectly thought out, all markets analyzed, all trends taken into account. Management applauds. The consultants present the bill.
Act 2: Implementation begins Three months later, I'm sitting with the same CEO, who is frustrated: “The teams aren't on board. They don't understand what we want. Our structures are too slow.”
Act 3: The rude awakening A year later, the strategy is worthless. Goals have not been achieved, far too little behavioral change... new consultants are brought in. The cycle begins again.
Why does this happen again and again?
Because without the other two corners of the triangle, strategy is just pretty slides. Let me translate that for you:
STRATEGY = What we want to achieve and how
STRUCTURE = How we are organized (processes, roles, systems)
CULTURE = How we really tick (values, behaviors, unwritten rules)
The most common triangle killers in practice:
The culture ignoramus: “Our new strategy focuses on agility and quick decisions!” - At the same time: Every decision over $1,000 requires three signatures and budget approval, which takes four weeks. Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
The structure dreamer: “We're becoming more customer-centric!” - At the same time: Your departments communicate about the customer, but not with each other. The customer calls five times and gets five different answers. I experienced this myself last week at a German bank; structure beats strategy hands down.
The strategy lover: Spends months developing the perfect strategy, but the organization can't implement it. Like a Formula 1 engine in a 25-year-old Golf.
A real-life example:
Manufacturing company, 800 employees. New strategy: “We are growing and becoming more innovative!” Sounds good, right?
The problem:
- Structure: Innovation was the responsibility of the CTO, who had no budget and no direct connection to sales
- Culture: “We've always done it this way” was the unofficial company slogan
- Change process: Should be done “ad hoc,” on the side, “for the sake of it”
- Result: Two years and a lot of frustration later, the same products and
The solution:
- Structure: Innovation teams with a budget and direct links to sales and production
- Culture: Failed experiments were celebrated (yes, really!), suggestions for improvement were rewarded
- Result: Three new product lines in 18 months
How you can use the triangle for yourself:
- Be honest in your analysis of the current situation Your official strategy is set out in your annual report (Strategy in Mind). You can see your real strategy (Strategy in Action) in what you spend your time and money on. You can recognize your culture by the behaviors that change (or don't change).
- Start with the weakest corner This is usually the culture. You can't change it by decree, only through consistent small steps. Every day.
- Make the connections visible “Because we want to become the market leader (strategy), we are changing our decision-making processes (structure) and will now reward risk-taking instead of perfection (culture).”
My tip: Take your current strategy and ask yourself:
- What structures need to change for this to work?
- What cultural behaviors support this—and which ones sabotage it?
- Where is my triangle most unstable?
The uncomfortable truth: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Structure determines the pace. But without a clear strategy, you're just running more efficiently in the wrong direction.
The strategic triangle is not a theoretical model – it is a reality check. Use it.
Your experience: Where have you seen one of the three corners sabotaging the others? And which corner is currently the weakest in your company?
P.S.: Next week, we'll look at real-time strategy – how to remain capable of acting despite uncertainty without getting lost in detailed planning.
