Are You Building Strategy or Building Strategists?

Key Takeaways

• Strategic thinking often treated as occasional event, not capability.
• CEOs must embed strategic practice into daily leadership routines.
• Repetition, reinforcement, metrics needed to develop strategic capacity.
• Companies invest in operational skills, but neglect strategic skill development.
• Building multiple strategists spreads future‑orientation across organization.

Summary

The article, the second in a six‑part series on building strategic capacity, argues that most CEOs treat strategy as an occasional activity rather than a core capability. Operational leaders often excel at execution but lack the "strategic bone" needed for long‑term decision‑making. The author stresses that strategic thinking must be cultivated through repeated practice, expectation, and reinforcement, just like sales or operations skills. CEOs are urged to shift focus from merely crafting strategy to developing a cadre of leaders who think strategically every day.

Pulse Analysis

In many firms, strategic thinking is relegated to annual retreats or ad‑hoc workshops, while operational capabilities receive continuous training, metrics, and incentives. This imbalance creates a bottleneck where a handful of executives shoulder the future‑planning load, leaving the broader leadership team ill‑equipped to anticipate market shifts. Research on high‑performing organizations shows that deliberate practice—regular, structured opportunities to apply strategic frameworks—correlates with faster innovation cycles and stronger resilience during disruption.

To transform strategy into an asset, CEOs should institutionalize strategic routines: short, cross‑functional huddles that dissect market signals, scenario‑planning drills embedded in quarterly reviews, and clear performance indicators for strategic contributions. Coaching and peer‑learning programs can reinforce these habits, while technology platforms capture insights and track progress. By treating strategic thinking like any other core competency, leaders embed it in the organization’s DNA, ensuring it surfaces in day‑to‑day decisions rather than isolated events.

The payoff is measurable. Companies that develop multiple strategists report higher revenue growth, quicker pivots, and reduced reliance on a single visionary. As competitive pressures intensify, the ability to distribute strategic insight across the leadership team becomes a decisive advantage. CEOs who prioritize building strategists not only safeguard their firms against blind spots but also cultivate a culture where every leader contributes to shaping the future, driving sustainable performance in an ever‑changing marketplace.