Many organisations treat strategy like a once-a-year exercise – crafted by the executive team, written into a polished deck, and shared at an all-staff meeting before everyone gets back to “business as usual.”
But real strategy doesn’t live in documents or yearly one-off events. It lives in conversations – in the daily decisions, priorities, and problem-solving that shapes how people work across the business.
Chip and Dan Heath’s book Switch offers a powerful framework for understanding why that matters. They explain that successful change happens when you engage three parts of human behaviour:
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The Rider — our rational side, which needs clarity and direction
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The Elephant — our emotional side, which needs motivation and belief
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The Path — our environment, which needs to make the desired behaviour easy and obvious
A well-crafted strategy addresses all three:
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It gives the Rider clear direction — what success looks like and how to get there.
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It energises the Elephant — by connecting people emotionally to the purpose and impact of their work.
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It shapes the Path — through systems, processes, communication, and leadership behaviours to make progress easier.
When strategy becomes a living conversation rather than a top-down message or one-off event, it naturally becomes imbedded in how people think, lead and collaborate. People understand it, talk about it, feel connected to it, and see how to act on it.
That’s when strategy moves from being a ‘plan on paper’ to becoming part of your culture – something everyone can see themselves in and contribute to.
The best strategies aren’t laminated; they’re lived.
If you’re ready to make your strategy something that truly lives and breathes across your organisation, join us at our free Destination Postcard Workshop on 20 November 2025. We’ll help you build a compelling vision for 2026 and set the first 90-day plan to make it happen. And we’ll shout lunch! Register now.