In my experience, many executives don’t stop and ask “Are we solving the right problem? Is our strategy even the right strategy?”

We fail to ask the tough questions upfront and spend the bulk of our time grinding away without ever zooming out. Eventually falling short of our plans, and personally burned out.

In this example, I would have seen minimal results if I had skipped all the strategy and planning and just hit the gym. I would’ve spent time on the wrong things, running for hours, or maximizing my personal bests on bench press, with no results to show, and eventually giving up (which is what happened the first time I tried)

Common Execution Pitfalls

Here are some examples of what execution failures look like in reality:

• Trading short-term growth for long-term sustainability.
• Investing in products customers don’t want.
• Building forecasts without understanding sales cycle complexities.
• Hiring senior leaders without budget or strategic alignment.
• Setting unrealistic targets misaligned with operational capacity.
• Focusing 100% of effort on sales, with 0 thought to post live / customer success
• Working deals not aligned with product roadmap or financial plans

Each of these issues stems from jumping into “doing” without strategic preparation. Without alignment, discipline, and rigor, even superstar teams will struggle.

Execution as a Discipline

Execution isn’t just about implementation; it’s about sustained strategy, planning, and adaptation.

You have to see end-to-end, and execution acts as a qualification layer of any successful strategy, similar to a qualifier for many bonus payouts.