Case Studies on Strategy

If you are confused by the underhanded behaviour of your line manager, a peer, a subordinate or a key stakeholder in another team then it's entirely possible you are dealing with a narcissist. Do not underestimate the damage someone with narcissistic traits can do. They will actively pursue project failure, misuse people, time and money, even put an entire organisation in genuine financial peril.

Hybrid and remote work don’t fail because people are apart, they fail because systems aren’t built to sustain clarity at distance. This case study contrasts business and military communication to reveal how leadership architecture, discipline, and feedback loops transform scattered teams into coordinated systems capable of consistent, high-performance execution under pressure.

A deep dive into why most organisations struggle to think strategically. This case study connects cognition, culture, and flow to show how strategic thinking develops, scales, and drives performance, and why it’s the rarest capability leaders seek to build.

Recently I was chatting with a senior leader about their frustration around leading organisational change. No matter how much conversation took place and no matter how many people outwardly agreed the change was required: Why was it so difficult to get those that agreed to execute?

Elon Musk’s approach to turning Twitter from an ideological bot ridden financial car crash to a financially stable trustworthy global town square is fraught with controversy. Many commentators have no understanding of what’s involved to drive the level of change Twitter requires. If we lay out the facts: Is changing Twitter to X an effective organisational transformation model?

If your team, department or company is about to embark on a transformation OR already embarked on one and progress is stalling, then it's highly likely your organisation lacks Strategic Thinking. This manifests similar to an Ant Mill Death Spiral, a continuously rotating circle of ants repeating their vicious cycle until they die of exhaustion. Business leaders can also succumb to this phenomenon.

Your ability to think strategically directly impacts how well thought out your strategy is and whether or not it can be delivered. Strategic initiatives fail at a rate of 50-90%, demonstrating why this skill is so valuable.

It’s speculated, according to the world of academia, that 50-90% of strategic initiatives fail. A controversial range, however it does raise an interesting question. Why does strategy have a high failure rate?

If your team, department or company is about to embark on an Digital Transformation OR has already embarked on one and progress is stalling, then in either case it's highly likely you have failed or will fail to consider Organisational Readiness for execution. In 2021 Forbes reported 70% of digital transformations fail, so it’s highly likely you will join the 70%.

The further up an organisational hierarchy you go the more likely you will encounter Narcissists, Sociopaths or Psychopaths. You may even have one or more in your social or familial circles. Regardless of where they sit in your life you will benefit from learning how to spot and manage them. You might find it surprising to know we can also learn a lot from them to improve our lives.

Psychometrics, when used effectively can be applied to measurably solve business problems in the short and long term to improve overall organisation performance. Learn more…

A phenomena I’ve encountered in almost every project is the inability to separate fact from fiction. Leaders making critical decisions following fact free debate. What can be done about it? Learn more…

If you experience anxiety before an annual review, job interview, delivering a presentation, before a sporting event / tournament or frequently as part of day to day life, then understanding what Anxiety is and how to leverage will be of significant benefit to you. With this insight you can easily turn Anxiety into Confidence when you would normally experience something between excitement and fear.

With mental health as an ongoing hot topic lets investigate the intrinsic links mental and physical health in terms of stress, anxiety, their impact on business outcomes and what to do about them. Learn more…

Real-world context given to the concept of culture, demonstrating what it is and it’s relationship with leadership and high performance. Learn more…

Leadership is a word thrown around on social media in the form of aspirational quotes and platitudes. The reality is very different and something that no-one really talks about or prepares for. Learn more…

If you and your team are responsible for Learning & development, are marginalised or ignored, regularly have your budget cut or receive no budget at all, then it's highly likely you have failed to demonstrate an ROI. CIPD & Forbes regularly publish articles and reports, when combined demonstrate why Learning & Development is typically not taken seriously as a strategic investment.