A Flawless Strategy Can Hide a Fatal Flaw

One day, I was asked to review a strategy for investing a few million dollars in a new fast-food chain. In a large meeting room, I was shown a plan that was, at first glance, academically impeccable. The numbers were formatted, the projections sound.

But before going into the details, I asked a simple question that left me unconvinced by the answer. It wasn't about the vision or the objectives. It was this:

“Who was involved in the conversation about this strategy?”

Because the most dangerous flaw in any plan is not in the spreadsheets; it is in the composition of the team that built them. We are too easily fooled by well-presented details, forgetting to first x-ray the group making the plan. If there are only financiers at the table and no one with a feel for the restaurant trade, something is fundamentally wrong.

Strategy is ultimately a social construct—a network of people talking. A leader’s most critical role, then, is not to devise the plan, but to architect the conversation.

In my experience, the healthiest teams are structured across three circles:

• The First Circle: The core group of absolute trust, the people who steer the strategy with you daily. Within this circle, the level of backstabbing and hidden agendas must be zero.

• The Second Circle: The challengers who check the plan and bring new perspectives, preventing the echo chamber that can form at the core.

• The Third Circle: The implementers on the ground, who provide vital information and are key to the plan's ultimate success.

I played as a goalkeeper for many years and learned that you save more goals by organising the defence well than by diving through the air to catch the ball. A CEO who is effective in strategy does the same. They worry less about the plan itself and more about ensuring their circles are well-organised and having real conversations.

This requires creating a sanctuary of trust, where the truth can be spoken without it being political suicide, and ideas can be critiqued without anyone feeling offended. When you adjust your team, you cannot compromise on chemistry.

So the next time you are presented with a strategy, ask that the first slide includes the photos and relevant experience of its creators. The presentation should begin like the line-up of a football team, with each player arranged according to their position.

Because before you invest in a plan, you must first have confidence in the players.