Why Most CEOs Fail to Implement Real Strategic Principles and What You Can Do About It?
As a long term researcher of technical leadership and excellence, one of my hobbies is to explore fresh voices and unique perspectives from thought leaders from different cultures. While browsing my reading feed today, I came across and article with a beautifully narrated voice.
The title of article instantly attracted my attention “Close the Gap: Align Your Leadership with the Company’s Real Strategy” I intuitively knew it would be insightful and it was. Therefore I wanted to share my thoughts about it briefly to give a perspective to my readers and encourage them to explore this thought leader if you are interested in leadership topic.
In his thought-provoking article, Svyatoslav Rosov parallels the leadership challenges CEOs face with a cinematic twist, referencing “Shutter Island.”
The real takeaway is that leadership strategy often becomes disconnected, much like the protagonist’s false reality. Rosov critiques this gap, highlighting a study by MIT Sloan revealing that only 28% of executives know their company’s strategic priorities.
His article emphasizes the importance of “Central Principles” — clear, actionable guidelines embedded in company culture. CEOs, Rosov argues, must ensure these principles guide daily decisions to truly close the leadership gap.
The insights are a timely reminder for leaders in today’s rapidly evolving business environment. The framework of Central Principles is an effective approach to aligning decision-making with long-term strategic goals, reducing the disconnect between strategy and execution.
My subscribers might wonder how this article relates to technology leadership and excellence which is the central theme of newsletter.
From my decades of experience, in technical and technology leadership, strategy alignment is crucial, just as in corporate, government, or academic leadership.
For example a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) might believe their team understands the overarching technology strategy, but if engineers are not guided by clear principles — like prioritizing automation, scalability, or innovation — the strategy becomes ineffective.
As another example, if a tech company claims to prioritize innovation but doesn’t invest in continuous learning or experimentation, its strategy is just an illusion. The key is ensuring every decision, from architecture design to feature development. implementation, or manage, reflects the core strategic principles.
From my perspective, technical or technology leaders like CIOs, CTOs, or CDOs must align strategy with execution by embedding core principles into every technical and Information management decision. Without this, even the most well-crafted strategies fall apart.
Technical excellence is achieved not just by innovating, but by ensuring that every engineer, product manager, data scientist, and tech lead is driven by consistent, well-communicated guidelines.
Success hinges on a shared understanding that informs daily operations, from coding standards to long-term technology investments, making strategy a living part of your tech ecosystem.
I believe Close the Gap: Align Your Leadership with the Company’s Real Strategy offers valuable insights to help you integrate leadership with strategy execution, ensuring your organization remains competitive in today’s fast-paced, competitive, and challenging economic climate.
I also noticed that the author explores a wide range of strategic insights in Red and Yellow Strategies: Flip Your Strategic Thinking and Overcome Short-termism, offering practical approaches to long-term strategy development as covered in my book titled “A Technical Excellence Framework for Innovative Digital Transformation Leadership“
In a comprehensive article titled How to Be an Excellent Technical Leader, which is a summary of my leadership book, I overview the 26 key characteristics of excellent technical and technology leaders who can survive and thrive even in the most critical situations to deliver outstanding business results, keep their team members sane, make their stakeholders happy, and delight their customers. Strategy is one of the most critical points as Rosov covers in his article and book too.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life. You can read these types of stories on Technology Excellence and Leadership newsletter.
If you enjoyed this story, you may also check out technology stories of Sylvain Zyssman in his insightful newsletter Startup Tech Booster.
If you are a writer, you are welcome to join my publications by sending a request via this link. I support 32K writers who contribute to my publications on this platform. You can contact me via my website. I also have another profile to write and curate tech stories. Friend Links to My Sample Boosted Stories for Non-Members of Medium.
New Submission Guidelines for ILLUMINATION, Curated Newsletters, SYNERGY, and Technology Hits.
You are welcome to join the ILLUMINATION Community on Medium and Substack and our education tool, Substack Mastery, curated by ILLUMINATION-Curators. Here is the Importance and Value of Medium Friendship for Writers and Readers
Join me on Substack, where I offer experience-based content on health, content strategy, and technology topics to inform and inspire my readers.
Get an email whenever Dr Mehmet Yildiz publishes. He is a top writer and editor on Medium.
dr-mehmet-yildiz.medium.com
This story was initially published at DigitalMehmet.com. My blogs and website offer free access to inspiring and educational stories for freelancers and content entrepreneurs. Membership Tiers and Benefits of ILLUMINATION Substack Mastery Community. Please use this portal to contact me with inquiries and feedback. You can read this story on Technology Excellence and Leadership newsletter.
Leave a Reply