Strategic Myopia

The organization optimizes near-term execution so aggressively that it loses the ability to see second- and third-order effects.

Strategy collapses into a sequence of reactions. Long-term positioning is replaced by short-term survivability dressed up as pragmatism.

Future positioning. The ability to make tradeoffs that pay off beyond the current quarter.

Sustained pressure rewards immediacy. Short-term wins are measurable; long-term positioning is not. Executives inherit incentive structures optimized for survival, not advantage.

• Framed as realism
• Justified by market volatility
• Masked by high activity levels
• Reinforced by quarterly reporting
• Protected by urgency language

The organization mistakes busyness for progress.

• Focus
• Discipline
• Responsiveness
• Strong execution culture

In reality, it is strategic blindness.

• Strategy conversations constantly postponed
• "Next quarter" replaces "next year"
• Long-term bets labeled as irresponsible
• Leaders rewarded for firefighting, not foresight
• Vision statements stop changing behavior

If strategy only exists in decks, it no longer exists.

• "The market changed"
• "We need to be more agile"
• "This is just execution debt"
• "We'll fix it next quarter"
• "Strategy is a luxury right now"

Core error: The system believes it is adapting when it is actually narrowing.

Explicit protection of long-horizon thinking.

Not:

• Annual offsites
• Vision refreshes
• Inspirational slogans

But:

• Separate decision lanes for short vs long term
• Leadership roles accountable for future-state health
• Time-bound protection for strategic work
• Willingness to absorb short-term pain for long-term leverage

Strategy requires insulation from urgency.

Strategy updated with longer-term tradeoffs acknowledged.

Freeze optimization and widen time horizon.

Upstream: FM-08 Decision Latency, FM-11 Metric Authority Drift

Downstream: FM-13 Capability Atrophy, FM-14 Narrative Collapse