When Alignment Fails, and What You Can Do About It

The Problem: When Organisations Underperform

The Pattern We See Everywhere

• Misalignment between boardroom and boots on the ground
• Disconnect between vision all the way down to weekly reality and actions
• Gaps in the real hygiene practices between strategy and action

It’s Not About Effort

People aren’t failing because they’re not trying.

They’re missing the connecting tissue, the glue, the sense making between vision and action.

Trust. Agreements. Alignment. Practices.

In over three decades of working alongside business owners, boards, and executive teams, one pattern shows up again and again: misalignment. Misalignment between the boardroom and the boots on the ground. Between the big vision and the weekly reality. And it’s not because people aren’t trying. It’s because they’re missing the connecting tissue between vision and action. Alignment is not a speech, a slide deck, or a leadership retreat. Alignment is a structure. A discipline. A practice.

When done right, vision cascades downward and comes to life as meaningful strategy, then clear objectives, committed projects, owned roles, and consistent, visible action. And when done right, every action reconciles itself back up to that vision. That’s how organisations master their world.

This framework is designed to make that process both visible and actionable.

1: VISION — The Organising Future

What we stand for. What we’re here to do.

Vision is not a slogan. Its the highest order unifying principle. It’s the animating future that calls the organisation forward. The vision is the top of the cascade. It’s the gravity well that everything else must orbit. This is the purpose-anchored future you commit to bring into the world. It take the chaos of markets, resources, opportunities and risk and creates a cohesive commitment to a future order.

Make the vision:

• Clear enough to steer by (no word salad or hyperbole)
• Bold enough to inspire and unify (no love, no connection = no leaning in)
• Concrete enough to measure (winnable goal AND path)

“Without vision, the people perish.” — Proverbs

If your vision doesn’t challenge you, it’s not a vision. If it can be achieved in the current system, with the current worldview, it’s not big enough to stretch you into tomorrows relevance. The vision is the test of leadership… leading, out in front. Innovative by nature.

Practice: Make your vision clear enough to steer by, bold enough to unify, and concrete enough to measure. Its not just about you, but customers and all stakeholders throughout.

2: STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES — The Theory of Change

What will success look like on the path to our vision?

Strategic Objectives are the mid-range translation of the vision into measurable wins. These are the longer-range priorities and commitments, they are clear propositions of change that have strategic advantage. Often 1–3 years in scope, that act as the North Star for decision-making. Think of them as the keel that keeps your ship tracking.

• Future-oriented – reaching for something important
• Strategic (key leverage and advantage, not just operational)
• Capable of being declared and tracked (proven)

“Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term.” — Johnson & Scholes

Practice: Frame your strategic objectives in the form: “By 2025, we have accomplished [strategic result] that supports [vision].”

3: ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES — The Annual Plan

What must we cause this year to realise our strategy?

Organisational Objectives break strategy into the next horizon of commitment. These are the annual deliverables or transformations that will power your forward movement. At this level, execution begins to take shape.

Each function or department should be able to see its contribution.

• Link clearly back and fulfil Strategic Objectives
• Be aligned across teams
• Be measurable with clear owners

Practice: Conduct 6 monthly or annual alignment sessions to test, reset and renew the strategic objectives. Create visual alignment maps that connect each annual target to its strategic and visionary parent.

4: KEY PROJECTS — The Vehicles of Change

Which major initiatives will deliver our objectives?

Projects are how the rubber meets the road. They carry your annual objectives forward. Too often, organisations confuse busyness with progress. But if your projects aren’t tied directly to strategic aims, you’re wasting time and energy. Mitigate Risk, Realise Opportunities, Create Efficiencies, Innovate.

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker

• Serve an Organisational Objective
• Have a clear owner and defined outcomes and timeframes
• Be regularly tracked for progress and promise integrity (Owner to report to Exec and/or Board)

Practice: Use the Promises Protocol: Who is doing what, for whom, by when?

5: ROLES & OWNERSHIP — The Human Architecture

Who is accountable, and do they have the capacity to lead?

Ownership is not the same as involvement. Projects need owners, not committees. Clear roles create flow. Fuzzy roles create breakdowns. Assign each project and each deliverable to a single named owner who is responsible for its outcome.

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” — Thomas Paine

Practice: Ensure every strategic and organisational objective has someone who owns it, is accounatable and reports regularly, not just works on it. Use a regular capacity checks (time, tools, training, talent) to support and resource successful ownership and delivery.

6: CONSISTENT ACTION — The Rhythm of Execution

What are we actually doing, now, today? Are we doing it effectively and on purpose?

This is where theory meets practice. Does each meeting make and track promises for Key Projects and Roles? Do your reports and dashboards measure results that matter? Is there evidence of action aligned with vision?

• Regular review and updates
• Clear visibility of progress
• Celebrating completions and confronting breakdowns

“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” — Carl Jung

Practice: Use a Results Protocol where every result is: defined, owned, measured, and reported.

From Alignment to Mastery

Vision without execution is hallucination. Execution without vision is a treadmill.

True organisational power is when these levels speak to one another clearly, cleanly, and continuously. From Vision to Strategic Objective. From Objective to Annual Plan. From Plan to Projects. From Projects to Ownership. From Ownership to Consistent Action. Then back again. It might seem like a lot of layers and work until you don’t do it. Dealing with chaos is harder work. Leadership is turning chaos into order.

This is the leadership structure that lets businesses, teams, and communities do what they are truly capable of. This is how we master our world.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln