The Tenon
Making strategy stick.
Most strategic investments depreciate.
Boards approve transformation budgets expecting durable capability. What they usually get is temporary improvement: gains that fade the moment attention shifts, and walk out the door when key people leave.
After 25 years on the hook for this inside one company, seven roles and six functions deep, I have seen the pattern dozens of times. I have also seen the opposite: change that compounds, spreads and works without its creators.
The Tenon is about the difference. What separates the investments that last from the ones that quietly depreciate. And a simple test that shows which one you are building: if everyone who built this left tomorrow, would it keep working?
A tenon is the part of a joint you never see, the piece that slots in and holds the structure together. That is what this newsletter is about: the hidden architecture that makes strategy stick.
For leaders, advisors and board members tired of reinvention that doesn't stick. New posts monthly.
