There is no perfect time to do strategy. If you wait, you’re already behind.

One of the biggest misconceptions in business is that strategy is something you do once or twice a year. You lock the leadership team in a room, build a slide deck, create a plan, and then return to business as usual. I don’t see it that way. Strategy never stops. It’s a continuous focus across the business.

Yes, there are moments when it makes sense to bring people together for a strategy workshop. In fact, I encourage my clients to do exactly that. These sessions create space to pause, reflect, challenge assumptions, and reset where necessary. They’re also powerful opportunities to reinforce culture, reconnect people to purpose, and align teams around shared goals.

But the workshop itself isn’t the strategy. The real work happens every day afterwards. Without deliberate attention, the noise of day-to-day operations can easily overwhelm what matters most. Urgent issues start crowding out important ones. Teams become busy rather than purposeful.

That’s why I encourage leaders to ‘operationalise their strategy’: Make it part of everyday conversations. Make it part of decision-making. Make it part of every leadership meeting. Ask: Does this move us closer to our goals or further away? Will this improve our chances of success or restrict them? Is this serving the team, the business unit, or the broader organisation? If we keep making decisions like this, where will we end up?

When strategy becomes part of the daily rhythm of the business, momentum builds. Priorities stay clear. Teams stay aligned. Progress accelerates. Strategy isn’t an event. It’s a commitment.