Culture Eats Strategy: Why Plans Fail Without People

allynitschke
2 days ago
2 min read

I’ll let you in on a truth that makes some executives a little uncomfortable: strategy doesn’t fail because the plan is wrong. It fails because the culture won’t carry it.

I’ve worked with organisations that had brilliant strategies, slick slide decks, consultants brought in at eye-watering fees, clear KPIs. And yet, months later, nothing had changed. People were still “too busy” putting out fires. Projects stalled. Morale dipped. The problem wasn’t the strategy. The problem was the culture.

When Culture Blocks Strategy

Think about it: culture is “how we do things around here.” It’s the lived experience of values, behaviours, and attitudes. If your culture is one of fear, blame, or endless busyness, even the smartest plan will collapse under the weight of resistance.

A culture of fear means people won’t innovate, they’ll play safe.
A culture of blame means accountability disappears, everyone points the finger elsewhere.
A culture of busyness means progress stalls, everyone’s active, but nothing moves forward.

It’s not that the strategy was bad, it’s that the soil wasn’t fertile enough for it to take root.

Why Culture Is the Edge in 2025

The workplace pressures of today, burnout, hybrid structures, generational shifts, and the integration of AI, have only amplified the importance of culture. Strategy can be copied. Technology can be bought. But culture? That’s your unfair advantage.

Gallup’s research shows that companies with engaged cultures don’t just perform better, they outperform competitors by significant margins in profitability, retention, and customer loyalty. That’s the ROI of culture.

The Courage to Lead Culture

Culture doesn’t magically appear because leaders wish it so. It takes courage to shape and protect it. Courage to call out behaviours that undermine it. Courage to model the values when it’s inconvenient.

Here’s what I tell leaders: culture is happening whether you’re paying attention or not. The question is whether you’re letting it drift, or actively shaping it.

How Leaders Can Embed Culture

Here’s where courageous leadership makes the difference:

Clarify what’s non-negotiable. People need to know what behaviours are rewarded, and what won’t be tolerated.
Live it, don’t laminate it. Culture isn’t words on a wall. It’s what leaders do every day.
Connect it to purpose. Strategy makes sense when people see how it serves the bigger why.

Final Thought

In 2025, the organisations that thrive won’t be the ones with the flashiest strategies. They’ll be the ones with cultures strong enough to carry those strategies through the messy reality of day-to-day work.

Because culture doesn’t just eat strategy for breakfast, it fuels it for the marathon ahead.

If you would like to book in a time to speak with Ally: CLICK HERE.

Ally Nitschke is a best-selling Author, an award-winning Thought Leader and Speaker. She has been working with leaders and as a Leader for over 20 years.

She is on a mission to change the way we communicate at work, to lean into those uncomfortable conversations and lead with courage.

Ally is a Keynote Speaker at conferences, delivers Transformational Programs & highly engaging workshops as well as provides Executive Coaching.