Why Most Strategies Fail with Roger Martin

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.

I'm thrilled to welcome you back to a series I did with my dear friend, Roger Martin. He's the author of the amazing book, Playing to Win, and together, we're exploring the true meaning of strategy and how it's often misunderstood or misapplied in business today.

THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR…CEOs, strategy leaders, and executives who want a clearer, more disciplined way to think about strategy. If you've ever questioned whether your strategy is actually driving customer behavior, this episode is for you.

TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…in this conversation, Roger revisits the most common ways organizations misunderstand strategy and explains why those misunderstandings persist. He walks through what real strategy requires, why execution often fails even when teams are aligned, and how leaders can move beyond planning frameworks to make decisions that actually lead to winning.

KEY TAKEAWAYS… Strategy succeeds only when choices reinforce one another and point toward a clear outcome.

Many organizations confuse strategy with planning, which leads to activity without impact.

Customer behavior is the ultimate test of whether a strategy is working.

Poor strategic outcomes are often the result of incomplete or misaligned choices.

Strong strategy requires leaders to be explicit about what they will and will not do.

WHAT I LOVE MOST…I love how Roger cuts through the noise and insists that strategy isn't mysterious, it's just demanding. His clarity around choice, discipline, and customer behavior challenges leaders to stop hiding behind complexity and start owning the real decisions required to win.

Running Time: 26:59

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