Leaders Don’t Lack Strategy, They Lack Signal: 5 Lines to Cut Through Noise
Most leaders don’t have a strategy problem.
They have a signal problem.
Every day feels louder - more meetings, more slides, more urgency - and somehow, less clarity.
A few years ago, I walked into a 7 am review that was going sideways.
Everyone was talking, no one was deciding.
Strategy wasn’t the issue - the signal was lost.
So I grabbed a marker, drew five lines on a page, and said: “Let’s start here.”
The room exhaled.
Suddenly, conversation turned into movement.
Those same five lines have guided every leadership room I’ve worked with since:
Why Now — one sentence that earns attention.
Non-negotiables — the principles that guide every decision.
Outcomes — the few deliverables that truly matter.
Constraints — name them early so you can work with them.
Cadence — who meets, how often, and what gets reviewed.
Five lines.
A napkin’s worth of space.
Enough to turn noise into known.
I’ve learned clarity doesn’t come from knowing more - it comes from naming what matters.
And that’s how leaders create the conditions where Clarity, Care, and Commercial Performance can coexist.
Your turn:
What’s the one constraint that derails you most right now?
Let me know - I’ll suggest a cadence tweak that works with it, not against it.
Former Fortune 10 C-Suite and 2022 HR Leader of the Year. I coach executives, solve complex organisational issues, and advise boards.