Strategy Crash
Most strategies don’t die — they crash. They take off with fanfare, gain altitude fast, and then quietly lose lift. For a while, it feels like progress. But one day the dashboard lights up, the noise fades, and you realize you’re gliding on fumes.
That’s the strategy crash — the inevitable fallout of chasing the high of a new plan without doing the hard work of wisdom.
Patterns I See
Early euphoria: The team’s fired up, the slide deck glows, the buzz is real.
Short-term spike: Metrics tick up. Everyone declares victory.
Momentum decay: Energy drops as implementation fatigue sets in.
Crash landing: Confusion, cynicism, and quiet blame spread across the system.
What Leaders Miss
The early success of a new strategy isn’t proof it’s right — it’s proof it’s new. Every fresh framework triggers focus, collaboration, and hope. That’s human, not strategic.
But when leaders mistake the honeymoon phase for sustainable traction, they skip the formation phase — the deeper work of integrating insight, building trust, and adapting over time.
Most crashes don’t come from bad ideas. They come from leaders who never learned to fly slow.
A strategy isn’t a sugar rush. It’s a metabolism.
Working With It
Track depth, not hype. Measure understanding and commitment, not just launch enthusiasm.
Name the cycle. Teach your team that early buzz fades — plan for it, don’t panic.
Build reflection loops. After each rollout, debrief what’s real, what’s residue, and what’s still unclear.
Hold the altitude. Don’t reinvent the plane every time the thrill wears off. Maintain steady course adjustments instead of constant resets.
Normalize the dip. Expect fatigue after change. The valley is where resilience gets built.
Questions Worth Asking
Are we sustaining clarity or just chasing novelty?
What would it take to make this strategy boring and still effective?
How do we know if momentum is genuine or just adrenaline?
What are we learning from our last crash that could prevent the next?
Field Truth
Most strategies fail because they work — for a while. The crash isn’t a verdict. It’s feedback.
Learn to fly the loop — launch, learn, level, and last.
