“The Strategy Gap: What Eric Partaker’s Wheel of Strategy Reveals About Team Alignment”

How one CEO coach challenges leaders to rethink clarity, alignment, and execution with just 20 questions.

Introduction

“70% of CEOs say their strategy is clear. Only 10% of their teams agree.” That bold statistic, shared by Eric Partaker, bestselling author and award-winning CEO Coach, instantly set off a conversation across LinkedIn. In his post, Eric didn’t just point out the problem—he offered a practical, no-fluff solution: the Wheel of Strategy. What followed was a surge of reactions from leaders who finally felt seen—and challenged.

Background & Context

Eric Partaker, a leadership advisor who has coached founders, CEOs, and executives at McKinsey, Skype, and beyond, has long emphasized that business excellence starts with strategic clarity. His latest post was timely, landing right as companies gear up for mid-year reviews and quarterly resets. Against the backdrop of a market demanding sharper execution and faster pivots, Eric’s Wheel of Strategy arrived as a simple but powerful tool to bridge leadership intention and team reality.

Main Takeaways / Observations

1. The Silent Killer: Misalignment

Eric highlights that the gap between leadership and team understanding is where momentum dies and priorities scatter. Teams don’t fail because they lack talent; they fail because they lack shared clarity.

2. Strategy in Four Quadrants

The Wheel of Strategy breaks down into four critical focus areas:

• Purpose & Direction (Why do we exist? Where are we going?)

• Market & Advantage (Who needs us? How do we stay ahead?)

• Goals & Metrics (What defines success today and this quarter?)

• Actions & Tactics (What must be done now and next?)

3. A Checklist, Not a Lecture

Instead of long documents or endless decks, Eric’s tool uses 20 direct questions designed to spark real conversations—not corporate jargon.

Community Reaction

The post struck a chord. Comments poured in, applauding the framework’s clarity and usefulness:

• Martin Crowley: “Clarity is everything in strategy.”

• Abista Ahmad Romadoni: “This Wheel of Strategy is gold! Clear, actionable, and no fluff.”

• Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey: “Clarity doesn’t come from vision alone—it’s built on alignment and action.”

• Dipl.-Ing. Lars Behrendt: “If your team doesn’t feel the strategy, it doesn’t exist.”

Many praised Eric’s focus on action over presentation and shared how they planned to incorporate the Wheel into leadership meetings, offsites, and quarterly resets.

Our Perspective / Analysis

From a legal and business consulting view, Eric’s emphasis on internal clarity has profound implications. Many disputes, failed mergers, and missed targets we see stem from internal misalignment, not external competition. Embedding a “Wheel of Strategy” mindset into governance structures, leadership contracts, and quarterly reviews could dramatically improve operational resilience and executive accountability. It’s a reminder that strategic clarity should not only exist—it should be felt across every layer of the organization.

Call to Reflection or Action

If your strategy lives only in leadership meetings and not in everyday decisions, it’s not real. Could your team answer these 20 questions today without you in the room? If not, maybe it’s time to revisit the Wheel—and rethink how you build alignment before your next big move.

Click here to visit LinkedIn post