How to execute strategy through behaviour. Kyle Harkema
“Organizations don't execute strategy. They execute behavior."
Ryan Castle sits down with Kyle Harkema, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at KMC Controls, scholar practitioner, and author of the newly released book "Strategic Clarity." Kyle unpacks the idea at the heart of his work: if your strategy isn't changing what people do on a Monday morning, it's not a strategy, it's a slogan. He explains why organisations don't execute strategy, they execute behaviour, and why so many leadership teams leave an offsite aligned and energised only to watch everything drift back to normal within weeks.
Kyle also explores why leadership's job is to create clarity, not certainty, and how great companies don't eliminate disagreement but instead build a shared decision framework that lets people make similar decisions even when the leader isn't in the room. He introduces the Strategic Orientation Index, a research-backed diagnostic that acts as both a mirror and a map for organisations, and shares real examples from KMC Controls of turning voice of customer insights into daily behaviour change across every department.
👉 Resource: Execution Strength Diagnostic: lvl10.us/execution
