Strategy execution: leading two horizons
Strategy only matters when it’s executed. A well-crafted plan is useless without movement. Our role is to help leadership teams not only design their strategy, but also bring it to life—step by step, with focus, rhythm, and accountability.
Horizon 1: Do Better
Every organization must keep improving what it already does well. Making things smarter, faster, more efficient, or more cost-effective ensures you harvest the full return on your investments. This focus on execution excellence strengthens today’s performance and protects your competitive edge.
But there’s a risk. When leaders stay too long on the same curve, inertia sets in. It feels safe—systems run smoothly, margins are steady, and experience guides decisions. That stability is valuable. It allows you to reap the maximum benefits from your existing business. Yet if you overstay on that curve, you start closing your mind. While you’re busy optimizing the present, the world around you is already moving on.
Horizon 2: Do New
Sustainable growth requires more than perfecting the known. It also demands the courage to explore what you’re not doing yet—new ideas, new business models, and new opportunities that could become your next economic engines. This is the space where innovation lives. The challenge is to free up leadership attention and organizational energy for both horizons at once: running today’s business and creating tomorrow’s.
Navigating the Sigmoid Curve
Every business follows a natural path of growth, maturity, and decline—a shape often described as the sigmoid curve. At first, growth is slow. Then comes acceleration, stability, and eventually, a plateau. The best leaders recognize when they are nearing that plateau and start building the next curve while the current one still performs strongly.
Waiting until performance declines is too late. At the top of the first curve, you have the resources, credibility, and energy to start something new. That’s the moment to invest in the future. The art of leadership lies in balancing both: driving today’s results while planting the seeds of renewal.
Turning Strategy into Action
In our work, we guide leadership teams to translate strategy into execution. We help them choose a limited number of strategic priorities that matter most, assign clear ownership, and create a rhythm of follow-up that drives progress. It’s not the talk that creates change—it’s the walk. This disciplined approach aligns people, builds momentum, and delivers measurable results.
What can you do this week?
If you are responsible for the success of your business—today and tomorrow—ask yourself two questions:
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Are we truly maximizing the potential of what we already do?
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And are we already investing in the next wave of growth?
Leaders who master both horizons shape the future rather than react to it. They understand that while excellence keeps you relevant today, renewal ensures you continue your success tomorrow.
Now is the time to act—to improve what exists, to explore what’s next, and to start the next curve while you’re still at the top of your game.
Hope this inspires.
Paul Donkers
Paul P.J. Donkers is a global business coach and consultant. He and his partners work with leadership teams to unlock growth and value.
Find out more at www.tencompany.org or www.ikigaicoachinginstitute.com.
For a confidential conversation, reach out via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
