Closing the gap between strategy and execution.
Guiding Boards, executives and leadership teams in growing businesses to turn strategic direction into aligned action and results.
Leadership teams think
they’re clear on their strategy.
Execution proves if they are or not.
Some growing businesses need to develop or strengthen their strategic direction. Others have a strategy, but the results reveal how clearly it is understood, how aligned people are around what it means and how consistently it is turned into action.
Do any of these problems sound familiar?
These can feel like separate issues. Often, they are connected. They are all signs that strategy and execution are no longer lining up as they should.
Growth has a way of exposing gaps
a smaller business could previously work around.
Introducing the
Grounded Growth Compass
Strategy doesn’t execute in isolation. The problems you can see in the business may be signs of a gap forming somewhere else.
The Grounded Growth Compass is the lens I use to look across five connected areas - Direction, Deliverables, Systems, Leaders and Teams, to understand where the gap may be forming and what needs attention.
Because the problem you can see isn’t always where the gap begins.
The Grounded Growth Five Point Compass
Mapping the elements that connect Strategy to Execution
What would stronger execution look like in your business?
The Compass helps identify where the gap is forming. When the right connections are strengthened, the business starts to operate differently.
Your business is one of a kind.
The work should be too.
Depending on where the gap is forming, The Work may focus in one or more of three connected areas:
Strategic Direction & Priorities
Developing or strengthening strategic direction, clarifying priorities and creating greater alignment around what matters most.
Commitments &
Ways of Working
Turning priorities into clear commitments, ownership and practical ways of working that support consistent execution.
Leadership & Accountability
Strengthening leadership, accountability and team ownership so decisions are made and followed through at the right level.
The Work starts where the gap is forming and is shaped around what will make the greatest difference.
What does this look like in practice?
The work may look different in every business. What matters is what changes in how the business thinks, decides and acts, and ultimately the results it delivers.
Examples of measurable results
$3M
Profit gain over three years following improvements to senior leadership decision-making
55%
Reduction in avoidable costs following structured problem-solving with senior and middle leaders
$350K
Saved through process improvement that reduced injuries and associated costs
13.5%
Revenue growth following greater alignment around strategic direction
Meet Maria Nolan
A grounded guide from strategy to action and results.
For more than 30 years, my work has centred on people - how they think, learn, lead and turn important ideas into action.
Today, I guide Boards, executives and leadership teams in growing businesses, bringing structure, curiosity and an independent perspective to help people get beneath the presenting issue, think clearly together and make better decisions.
My approach is practical and collaborative. I guide the process, ask the questions that need to be asked and keep ownership of the decisions and outcomes where it belongs - with the people responsible for delivering them.
Strategy to Execution Diagnostic
Not sure where the gap is forming in your business?
In under 10 minutes, the Strategy to Execution Diagnostic helps you assess the five elements of the Grounded Growth Compass and identify where execution may be getting stuck and where attention could make the greatest difference.
Are you ready to close the gap between strategy and execution?
Whether you need to develop or strengthen your strategic direction or understand why your existing strategy is not delivering the results you expected, the first step is a complimentary 30-minute conversation.
We’ll talk through what is happening, what you would like to achieve and whether working together is the right next step.