Can I Get a Refund? The Invisible Strategy Tax

This is part of a series written by Sarah Garver, PhD, Manager, Insights and Strategy Activation, focused on the topic of Strategy Activation through behavioral change.

Part One: What If We Activated Strategy Like We Activate Brands?

There’s an invisible tax most organizations pay every year.

It’s not listed on a balance sheet. It’s not filed with the IRS.

But it costs the U.S. economy $438 billion annually — roughly the GDP of Colombia, South Africa, or Romania – and that cost is ineffective teams.

It’s tempting to blame the strategy. Or leadership. Or the ever amorphous and squishy “culture.”

But strategy rarely breaks down because people don’t understand it. And sometimes, it’s not even because people don’t want to do it.

The biggest drag on strategy isn’t ambition or talent — it’s the inability of leaders and teams to translate intent into everyday behavior.

We’ve all seen it: a compelling strategy – painstakingly defined through months of discovery and millions in outside support. Delivered with a crisp cascade, and a dynamic c-suite leader… and then reality sets in. Old habits resurface. The strategy becomes something people agree with — but don’t actually do. And we’re left waiting for “the next flavor of the month.”

So, what went wrong?

Strategy activation is about mobilizing people to do things differently. It works because it’s based on proven approaches to behavior change.

Behavioral science tells us that three things must be true to change behavior:

1. Motivation: People want to change – they’re inspired, incentivized, or influenced.
2. Capability: They know how to change – understanding, skill and application
3. Environment: Their setting makes it easier — even encourages them – to practice

Strategy Activation works because it doesn’t just tell people what matters — it helps them believe in it, understand their role in it and practice it in an operational environment that supports it.

That’s how strategy stops being an invisible tax on your organization and instead starts generating that shiny refund. Check, please?