Transformation - distinguishing between strategy and execution

• One of the worst mistakes of transformation is distinguishing between strategy and execution.
• Strategy is designed by the executive management in collaboration with premier consulting firm, and Execution is delegated to second-rung consulting firm, as an after thought.
•  The strategy thus is a romantic and mechanistic conception. 
• It soon turns out to be - "Our transformation strategy is perfectly clear, but we had a big execution problem",
• This leads to stalling of transformations in large companies and causes a strong push from the top management and strong tensions within the middle management.
• The strategy is not executed because it is not a true reflection of the capabilities of the organization. 
• If strategy execution is a problem, then execution is a strategic issue that strategic thinking has wrongfully ignored.
• To distinguish Strategy from Execution is to exempt top management of any responsibility in the transformation. 

Courtesy: Philippe Silberzahneng