8 January, 2026
What I have recently observed in my strategy consulting engagements is that many organisations have become overly obsessed with quick results. In many cases, this short term focus ends up costing them considerable amount of time and money, whether through repeated rework, missed near term opportunities, or premature exits from initiatives that were close to delivering value.
This behaviour is often described as Managerial Blindness. It typically emerges when leaders have not previously been exposed to similar situations due to insufficient hands on experience, and it commonly manifests as impatience or an inability to clearly envision what the end product or service will look like, and how progress will unfold over time.
When leaders become impatient for results, this blindness can lead to the premature abandonment of strategic resources, creating disbenefits rather than giving them time to realise capabilities that are close to being realized, despite the significant investment made in them.
In strategy implementation, the risk of Managerial Blindness is particularly high, as strategic outcomes rarely materialise in a linear manner. Instead, they emerge in waves, with each wave building on the progress of the one before it.
This is why Target Operating Models have gained popularity in recent years, it helps strategists visualise the future end state and understand how capabilities evolve from infancy to full maturity.
To conclude, as Helen Keller wisely quoted, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” this brings in the fact that developing solid strategic plans and putting them into action is not enough; what really matters for strategists the most is patience and vision, the ability to see the future end state and remain committed to the implementation journey.
