The Real Work Lies in Execution

As I hit my own exercise program harder these days, I’m reminded of David Maister’s brilliant book Strategy and the Fat Smoker. His premise is simple but piercing: most of us — and most organizations — don’t fail because we don’t know what to do. We fail because we don’t actually do it.

Why is this so common?

Like getting back at my fitness, strategy demands more than insight. It demands discipline, accountability, and the willingness to sustain the hard work long after the initial enthusiasm fades. Every leader knows this — yet many firms, particularly in professional services, drift back into comfort once the planning session is over.

In my work with #AEC and other employee-owned #Evergreen companies, I often see the same pattern. Teams understand the priorities — invest in leadership, align governance, deepen stewardship, reflect on rewards — but execution requires heavy lifting. Real change lives in the daily habits, the uncomfortable conversations, and the choices that align short-term trade-offs with long-term purpose.

It is a bit like what we hear in sports - while teams can learn from failure, they can also learn by the discipline and follow through in continuously stacking small wins and building off the momentum and rewards from doing the small things well, repeatedly.

The real test of leadership isn’t clarity of vision — it’s the courage to keep doing the reps when it’s hard.

What helps your organization close that knowing–doing gap?