Three Questions Every NED Should Ask Before Signing Off a Growth Plan
Part 4: Strategy Without Illusion
The deck is clean. The numbers are bold. The management team presents with confidence.
But before you nod through that growth plan, ask yourself this: Are we sure we’re backing strategic intent that can be systematically multiplied into operational results, or just approving financial projections with operational assumptions?
From the touchline, this moment matters more than most realise. It’s the point where trust, strategic intent, and multiplication capability need to align. And it’s where Chairs, NEDs, Portfolio Managers, CEOs, and Managing Directors have a unique responsibility: to test for strategic clarity without undermining execution confidence. To probe for operational realism without stifling strategic ambition.
Here are three questions I always ask before signing off any growth plan, and why they matter more for strategic multiplication than they might initially seem.
I come at this from the perspective of someone who’s often brought in as Interim CEO when strategic execution has already started to unravel. Most of the operational issues I face weren’t caused by poor strategic thinking or inadequate individual capabilities. They were caused by silent misalignment around strategic multiplication at the point of sign-off: teams agreeing to strategic direction without building the systematic capability to translate that direction into coordinated operational results.
This article is part of preventing that breakdown: surfacing what needs to be systematically assessed earlier, when there’s still time to build multiplication capability rather than just monitor strategic progress.
One of the most common issues I encounter is boards and management teams rushing to get financial plans approved, often for bank requirements, sometimes just because it’s “that time of year” in the planning calendar. But if deadlines are driving the strategic planning process, perhaps the strategic thinking started too late for systematic multiplication to be properly established. Or perhaps the CEO and FD need to have a more fundamental discussion with stakeholders about building strategic execution capability rather than just meeting planning deadlines.
Strategic planning that can support The Strategic Multiplication Framework™ is important enough to get right, not just completed on schedule. Don’t be pressured into signing off strategic direction just because the calendar or external deadlines demand it.
Question 1: What is the strategic intent, in operational language?
Don’t let the team repeat strategic buzzwords or recite vision statements. Ask them to describe the strategic intent clearly, without slides, without bullet points, in language that could guide operational decision-making when leadership isn’t present to provide tactical direction.
What specifically are we doing strategically, why does it create competitive advantage, and how will operational success build systematically toward strategic outcomes? How will teams know whether their daily operational decisions support strategic intent? What decision-making criteria should guide operational choices when strategic trade-offs arise?
If they can’t translate strategic thinking into operational guidance that travels through conversation rather than presentation decks, they’re not ready for systematic strategic execution. Strategic plans that rely on presentation polish and strategic jargon rarely survive the operational pressure required for systematic multiplication.
Real strategic clarity should be expressible in operational language that helps teams make consistent decisions aligned with strategic intent, not just aspirational language that sounds strategically sophisticated.
In military contexts, mission analysis starts with fundamental questions: What’s the strategic objective? What’s my operational role in achieving it? How do I make decisions that support strategic success when conditions change? If your leadership team can’t answer these questions in operational terms, your strategic thinking might still be conceptual rather than executable.
Question 2: What operational capabilities need systematic development to deliver this strategic intent?
Strategic growth is never just achieving higher financial numbers. It’s building systematic operational capabilities that can deliver strategic outcomes consistently and sustainably over time.
Ask specifically where the enhanced delivery capability will come from. What operational routines, organisational roles, strategic priorities, or coordination structures will need systematic development? What individual capabilities need to become collective capabilities for strategic multiplication to work? Who’s reallocating operational attention, resources, or focus in this strategic plan, and how will that reallocation be managed systematically?
What systematic capabilities does the organisation need to develop that it doesn’t currently possess? How will those capabilities be built systematically rather than hoped for? What operational coordination needs to improve for strategic outcomes to be achieved consistently?
If this question causes confusion, deflection, or purely tactical responses, there’s likely a significant gap between strategic ambition and multiplication capability. Teams might understand strategic objectives intellectually without having systematic plans for building the operational capabilities required to achieve those objectives consistently.
The Strategic Multiplication Framework™ requires systematic operational capability development, not just tactical activity coordination or individual performance improvement.
Question 3: What’s the systematic rhythm for maintaining strategic alignment?
Even with sound strategic intent and adequate operational capabilities, businesses naturally drift away from strategic focus amid operational pressures. Strategic thinking fades from daily decision-making. People default back to familiar tactical patterns rather than systematic strategic coordination.
Ask specifically how the team will systematically maintain connection to strategic intent through operational complexity. Where are the systematic reflection points that assess strategic progress rather than just tactical performance? How will strategic misalignment be surfaced early and addressed systematically before it compounds into performance problems?
What systematic approaches will keep strategic intent alive in operational decision-making when urgent tactical pressures arise? How will the organisation maintain strategic focus when operational demands naturally pull attention toward immediate tactical requirements?
If the answer is “monthly board meetings” or “quarterly strategic reviews,” it’s not systematic enough for effective multiplication. Strategic alignment requires systematic operational rhythm that maintains strategic focus through daily operational decisions, not retrospective strategic assessment after tactical patterns have already established themselves.
Good strategic multiplication lives in systematic operational rhythm and consistent strategic decision-making criteria, not in periodic retrospective review of what happened tactically. By the time monthly financial reports tell us what happened four weeks ago, we’ve already missed several weeks of opportunity for systematic strategic coordination.
What these questions systematically assess
You’re not there to tell the team how to execute tactically. You’re there to test multiplication readiness. These questions aren’t about catching people unprepared or demonstrating superior strategic thinking. They’re about systematically surfacing strategic assumptions, operational capability gaps, and coordination misalignments early, when systematic solutions can still be implemented.
The goal isn’t to slow strategic planning down. It’s to ensure systematic multiplication capability is established before strategic execution begins, so operational momentum doesn’t dissipate three months into implementation.
And if you’re reading this thinking, “we’ve already signed the strategic plan off,” that’s not the end of the multiplication conversation. It’s a signal to systematically reset operational rhythm now around strategic intent. Rebuild systematic connection between strategic thinking and operational action. Ask the team to rearticulate strategic intent in operational language that guides decisions. Reconfirm the systematic operational shifts required for strategic success. And introduce systematic discipline around strategic reflection before operational drift sets in too deeply.
Building systematic strategic multiplication capability
The Strategic Multiplication Framework™ recognises that these questions assess fundamental multiplication capabilities that distinguish strategically successful organisations from those that struggle with strategic execution despite sound strategic thinking.
Strategic translation capability. Can the team systematically translate strategic concepts into operational guidance that influences daily decision-making? Do they understand strategic intent clearly enough to make consistent operational choices that build toward strategic outcomes when leadership isn’t present to provide tactical direction?
Operational development capability. Does the organisation have systematic approaches for building the operational capabilities required for strategic success? Can they systematically develop collective capabilities rather than just improving individual performance? Do they understand what operational coordination needs to change systematically for strategic multiplication to work?
Strategic maintenance capability. Can the team systematically maintain strategic focus amid operational complexity and tactical urgency? Do they have systematic approaches for keeping strategic intent alive in operational decision-making when immediate pressures naturally diffuse strategic attention?
These capabilities distinguish organisations that achieve strategic objectives systematically from those that achieve tactical successes without building toward strategic outcomes consistently.
Systematic assessment beyond initial planning
The Strategic Multiplication Framework™ approach extends these assessment questions beyond initial strategic planning into systematic ongoing evaluation of multiplication effectiveness.
Ongoing strategic translation assessment. How effectively is strategic intent being translated into operational decision-making throughout the organisation? Where is strategic thinking influencing operational choices consistently, and where is tactical urgency overriding strategic priorities systematically?
Systematic capability development monitoring. What operational capabilities are developing systematically toward strategic requirements? Where is the organisation building collective capabilities that support strategic multiplication, and where are individual efforts not coordinating effectively around strategic outcomes?
Strategic coordination rhythm evaluation. How consistently is strategic intent being maintained through operational complexity? What systematic approaches are working to keep strategic focus alive amid tactical pressures, and where is operational drift undermining strategic alignment predictably?
The multiplication value of systematic questioning
When strategic planning includes systematic assessment of multiplication capability, organisations develop several competitive advantages that are difficult for rivals to copy.
They build strategic execution confidence based on systematic capability rather than optimistic assumptions about operational coordination. They develop strategic momentum that compounds over time because operational capabilities build systematically toward strategic outcomes rather than scattering across tactical priorities.
They create strategic resilience that maintains strategic direction even when operational conditions change, because systematic multiplication capability adapts strategic execution to new conditions whilst maintaining strategic intent.
Most importantly, they build organisational strategic confidence that enables more ambitious strategic objectives over time because systematic multiplication capability transfers across different strategic challenges.
The systematic approach for multiplication leaders
For leaders operating from the touchline, systematic questioning about multiplication capability serves several purposes beyond just strategic planning assessment.
It demonstrates systematic strategic thinking that builds confidence in leadership oversight whilst maintaining respect for operational expertise. It establishes systematic criteria for assessing strategic progress that goes beyond financial performance to include capability development.
It creates systematic expectations for strategic execution that build multiplication discipline throughout the organisation. It provides systematic frameworks for ongoing strategic conversation that maintains strategic focus through operational complexity.
Most importantly, it builds systematic multiplication capability through the planning process itself, rather than just evaluating whether strategic plans meet approval criteria.
The best operational leaders welcome systematic strategic challenge because it demonstrates commitment to strategic delivery rather than just strategic approval. It shows systematic support for building multiplication capability rather than just monitoring strategic performance.
Systematic strategic questioning builds multiplication capability that distinguishes strategic success from tactical activity, and strategic competitive advantage from operational efficiency.
The Strategic Multiplication Framework™ forms part of my strategic operations consulting approach. Working as Chair/NED, Interim CEO, or Executive Coach, I help senior management teams multiply their strategic knowledge and operational effectiveness.
Follow the complete “Strategy Without Illusion” series for systematic approaches to building strategic planning that supports multiplication capability from initial assessment through sustained execution.
