Is strategy enough?

As we speed along towards 2026, most of us will be quietly reflecting on 2025 (what worked?...what bombed?), and some may even be tentatively orientating themselves towards 2026 (probably thinking...'what the hell can we do to get better?')

As an obvious mechanism to improve an organisation's approach to the year ahead - strategy is the first thing that comes to mind as a solution.

The thinking is:

"With a good strategy in place - we will smash 2026 for sure!"

But is strategy enough to ensure outperformance?

The short response to this question; no.

Strategy is incredibly important, but it's not enough.

To improve your probability of outperformance, you're going to need more than just a great decision-making framework that helps to focus resources on the attainment of a desirable future.

Along with strategy, an entire system of innovation, designed to create the conditions under which brand new value is explored and commercialised, is needed.

Category outperformance is achieved thanks to a transformative behavioural shift in the operational approach that a business takes.

Those that shoot-the-lights-out do so because of what they become; innovative.

So as we head to 2026 - there may well be a call to 'do some strategy' - before the new year really gets going. But don't let it stop there. Transformation requires a commitment to practicing business in a very different way.

Innovation is not something that a company does, but rather it's what a company is.