4 problems I keep seeing
The recurring issues I keep seeing and what can change them
I’ve sat in a lot of rooms discussing business problems. Different industries. Different deals. Different sizes.
Similar problems turn up. You may recognise one. You may recognise all four.
1. Strategy with no steps
The strategy is clear on the slide. Then someone asks what happens on Monday, and the room goes quiet.
Without steps, a strategy is a wish. Teams fill the gap with whatever is most urgent, and the direction slowly drifts.
What changes: a prioritised roadmap, and clarity on what it will take and clarity of WHY these particular priorities. If you cannot explain why this is a priority, you’ve found a gap.
Try this: take one strategic goal. Write how do you know you have got there, what does success look like? Write the first three steps around figuring it out: setting direction, shaping and a unified lens; assign an owner; ask to bring back at a check point before taking action to execute. If you can’t, you’ve found a gap.
Found a gap? Talk to an expert: a strategic portfolio management specialist.
2. Decisions that stall, and value that goes unmeasured
Smart people. Plenty of data. Still waiting for the perfect answer while the moment passes. And everyone is busy, which is not the same as valuable.
A good decision made now beats a perfect decision made too late. Hesitation costs pace.
What changes: timely decisions, backed by experience and judgement, with value tracked as you go, with clarity of consequences if no action is taken.
Try this: pick one decision that has been waiting. Ask what you would need to know to decide it this week. Then agree how you will check, later, that it was right. Insert a key indicator into your dashboards. How long is it taking to make decisions. Target 3, 6, 9, 12 days depending on complexity and governance. But measure! Issues raised date. Variance to time of resolution. Or decision required date. Variance to time of decision.
3. Change that does not stick
The launch goes well. We celebrate. Six months later, people are back to the old way.
Too often the change was announced, but never built into how people work day to day.
What changes: sustainable change, the first time.
Try this: look at the last change you launched. Who is doing something different today, and how do you know? When executing a strategy the board asks for metrics on its success, when we ask for change be as diligent – what is the change expected and how will it be measured.
4. Output that is not value
AI makes output cheaper. It doesn’t make it more valuable. More reports, more code, more content, produced faster. And still no change you can point to.
“With the Project Operating Model, AI makes it faster to do the wrong things.” — Mik Kersten, Output to Outcome (IT Revolution, 2026)
What changes: effort goes to what matters, and is measured by what changed, not what was produced. Number of releases does not necessarily = value.
Try this: choose one piece of work in flight. Write down what should be different because of it. If you can’t, ask why you are doing it. And if you can, is it in the right priority to your service design improvement roadmap?
Why the track comes first
Formula One doesn’t start with the engine. It starts with the track.
Business is the same. Look at your services before your enablers. AI makes the engine cheaper every month (depending on the cost of tokens!). Direction, priorities and decisions are still yours.
That is the thinking behind KingFramework: four steps to figure it out, four steps to take action, with mindset and storytelling running through every one. Sixteen practices in all, and they work on top of the methods and tools you already use.
The prize, every time: sustainable outcomes.
Which one sounds like you?
Tell me in the comments, or send me a note.
If inertia is costing you pace, let’s fix that.
Ferne Eliz King helps executive teams and boards turn strategic complexity into clarity, and clarity into results. Get in touch, or subscribe to the newsletter for more.
Consulting: If inertia is costing you pace, let’s fix that. Button: Book a Call.
KingFramework: Curious how KingFramework could sharpen your value? Discuss KingFramework.
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