Why does your strategy look perfect on paper but fall apart the moment you step out the room?
In this episode I sat down with Kyle Harkema, researcher, executive leader, professor and author of Strategic Clarity, to unpack why so many founders feel like the only one who actually cares about the plan.
Kyle has spent two decades inside real businesses figuring out why growth stalls, and his answer surprised me. It isn't the market. It isn't the pricing. It isn't even the people. It's something quieter, sitting in the gap between what leadership says on Friday and what behaviour actually looks like Monday morning.
We dig into the warning signs hiding in plain sight inside your business, the difference between agreement and alignment, and the moment most founders realise their company has been running them for years.
Interested in freeing yourself in the business? Take the exit ready diagnostics test and identify the gaps in your growth and scale model. Go here: https://readytoexit.scoreapp.com/
Timestamps
00:00 Understanding the Disconnect Between Strategy and Execution
04:00 The Role of Behaviour in Business Success
06:41 Communication vs. Alignment in Organisations
09:25 Identifying Misalignment and Its Causes
12:31 Recognising Warning Signs of Misalignment
15:04 Healthy vs. Dysfunctional Friction in Teams
17:53 Cultural Dysfunction vs. Strategic Misalignment
20:39 Adaptability and Alignment in Business Strategy
23:29 Understanding Leadership Disconnects
25:48 The SOI Framework Explained
27:39 The Role of Middle Management in Strategy
29:49 Scaling Challenges in Organisations
31:33 Lifestyle vs. Performance-Based Businesses
34:20 Operational Differences in Business Models
36:21 Practical Exercises for Identifying Misalignment
38:08 The Unique Approach of Kyle's Upcoming Book
ABOUT THE GUEST
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-harkema-dba/
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@KyleJHarkema?ra=m
Website: https://kylejharkema.com
Gift: I’m offering 5 complimentary Strategic Alignment Briefings for leaders who feel like strategy is becoming difficult to execute consistently across teams.
It’s a 30-minute executive conversation designed to help identify where strategy may be breaking down behaviourally inside the organisation.
Just visit kylejharkema.com/connect and mention the podcast.
ABOUT THE HOST
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong
Website: https://adamstrong.net
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong
