- CARTER REPORTS
- Posts
- What If Your Strategy Isn’t Broken—Just Invisible?
In my work with owners and leadership teams, one truth shows up again and again:
The biggest problem in a business often isn’t the strategy—it’s the lack of clarity around it.
You may already have the right building blocks in place: a great team, a strong product, bold goals. But if you can’t clearly and consistently describe how you plan to compete, grow, and win—then your strategy isn’t broken. It’s invisible.
And invisibility is dangerous. It leaves your team guessing, your decisions reactive, and your priorities scattered.
When your strategy is visible, it becomes the backbone of the business. It informs what to say yes to—and what to walk away from.
That’s what we’ll explore in this week’s report.
David Paul Carter, The Clarity Guy™
What's On Deck
What If Your Strategy Isn’t Broken - Just Invisible?
When business slows down, our first instinct is to fix the strategy. Change the messaging. Rewrite the plan. Restructure the org chart. But what if the real problem isn’t that your strategy is broken—it’s that no one can see it?
Here’s what invisible strategy looks like:
Your team is busy, but unsure what really matters.
Leadership meetings are filled with firefighting, not forward direction.
You’ve got goals, but no shared filter for what to say no to.
Decisions are made based on instinct, not alignment.
That’s not just noise. That’s invisibility. And it’s one of the biggest threats to momentum.
Why it happens:
The strategy lives in your head—or in a slide deck.
It’s never been distilled into simple, memorable language.
No one’s asked if your current direction still connects to what truly matters.
What to do instead:
Make your strategy visible. Ask:
Can I say our strategy in one sentence?
Can my leadership team do the same?
Are decisions made in alignment—without checking in?
A visible strategy is a living strategy. One that guides real action, filters distractions, and aligns your people with purpose.
So before you rewrite the playbook, stop and ask:
“What if our strategy is already here—we just haven’t seen it clearly enough to use it?”
Market Pulse Spotlight
Can Your Team Say It in One Sentence?
Studies by McKinsey found that teams aligned around a clear, simple strategy execute faster and with more confidence. Yet many leaders assume alignment without testing it.
This week’s takeaway: Write your company’s strategy in one sentence. Then ask your team to do the same—without sharing yours first. If the answers are wildly different, your strategy might be invisible.
Exclusive offers
Need Help Making Your Strategy Visible?
Book a 30-minute Strategy Clarity Session with me—free for Carter Reports subscribers this month.
▶️ Schedule Now
Closing Thoughts
The most powerful strategies aren’t the most complex—they’re the most clear.
If you can’t say it simply, your team can’t follow it fully. Clarity creates momentum.
“Everything connects to everything else.” When your people see the strategy, they can live the strategy.
Let’s Grow Together
Did this edition spark an idea? Reply and let me know. Forward it to someone who needs to see the invisible. And if you haven’t yet—subscribe here to never miss an issue.
All the best-
Reply