Is Urgency Detouring Your Strategy?
Many leaders say they care about long-term direction. Then the week starts.
You’ve probably seen these happen:
A big customer asks for something special.
A key metric declines.
A senior executive raises a concern.
A competitor makes announces a big move.
And all of the sudden, the planned strategic work slides to the side while the immediate issue takes center stage. Run that pattern enough times and the organization learns what really matters…and it isn’t the strategy.
How You Know It’s Happening
You don’t need a survey to see the pattern. Look at how work actually gets approved and resourced:
Teams restart projects every few months under “new direction”
Roadmaps change faster than delivery cycles
Exception requests move faster than planned investments
Leaders preach focus then reward rapid reaction
People respond rationally. They put their energy where leaders put their attention. Over time, long-range initiatives become background noise.
Why Announced Priorities Lose Their Grip
Leaders often believe that stating a priority gives it staying power. In practice, priorities hold when they are built into operating rules.
Long-term work needs visible protection:
Dedicated capacity that cannot be reassigned without senior approval
Budget that is not open to casual reallocation
Accountable owners with decision rights
Scheduled reviews that examine progress and obstacles
Explicit criteria for what can interrupt the plan
Without these mechanisms, every new request competes on emotion and urgency. And the louder case usually wins.
Strong Operators Put a Price on Interruptions
Execution improves when interruption carries a visible cost. When a new “must do” item appears, require an exchange decision:
Which committed deliverable moves or stops?
Which team loses capacity?
Which metric is expected to suffer?
Who signs off on the swap?
Write it down and communicate it. Now the decision has consequence and memory. Patterns become visible. Repeat interrupters show up in the record.
This level of discipline changes behavior. Leaders become more selective, and teams gain air cover to finish meaningful work.
Both throughput and morale benefit.
Look at your last three priority changes. Each one tells a story about how your system handles urgency. Read those stories closely. They describe your real strategy.
