BENCHMARK STUDY

The State of Strategy Execution: Balancing Speed, Adaptation, and Control

Global Benchmark Study Reveals How Leading Companies Find the Sweet Spot Between Execution Speed, Responsiveness, and Effective Governance

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Commissioned by Planview
Conducted by Lawless Research

Key Findings Research Methodology Get the Report

This global benchmark study assessed how organizations balance speed, quality, and governance in strategy execution to deliver superior business outcomes.

  • 800 business professionals responded to a 12-minute online survey using Quest Mindshare’s B2B panel
  • The survey was fielded July 2-31, 2025
  • Conducted as a blind survey for panel respondents, who did not know Planview was the sponsor
  • The survey was designed and analyzed by Lawless Research

Role

18% (145) 16% (127) 15% (122) 14% (113) 8% (67) 8% (62) 4% (34) 4% (30) 4% (29) 3% (22) 2% (17) 2% (16) 1% (11) 1% (5) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% Operations Information Technology (IT) Executive / General Management Accounting / Finance Project/Program Management or PMO Strategy and Planning Product Management / Product Marketing Engineering / Design / R&D / Product Development Customer Service / Support / Experience Manufacturing Professional Services / Consulting Supply chain / Logistics Marketing Innovation
18% (145) 16% (127) 15% (122) 14% (113) 8% (67) 8% (62) 4% (34) 4% (30) 4% (29) 3% (22) 2% (17) 2% (16) 1% (11) 1% (5) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% Operations Information Technology (IT) Executive / General Management Accounting / Finance Project/Program Management or PMO Strategy and Planning Product Management / Product Marketing Engineering / Design / R&D / Product Development Customer Service / Support / Experience Manufacturing Professional Services / Consulting Supply chain / Logistics Marketing Innovation
18% (145) 16% (127) 15% (122) 14% (113) 8% (67) 8% (62) 4% (34) 4% (30) 4% (29) 3% (22) 2% (17) 2% (16) 1% (11) 1% (5) 0% 20% Operations Information Technology (IT) Executive / General Management Accounting / Finance Project/Program Management or PMO Strategy and Planning Product Management / Product Marketing Engineering / Design / R&D / Product Development Customer Service / Support / Experience Manufacturing Professional Services / Consulting Supply chain / Logistics Marketing Innovation

Job Level

Manager 24% (191) Senior Manager 22% (179) Director 19% (148) Senior Director 11% (84)
Vice President 11% (87) Senior Vice President 4% (29) President 2% (15) C-Level Executive 8% (67)

Fiscal Year 2024 Revenue

$100M to $249.9M (6%) $250M to $499.9M (11%) $500M to $749.9M (16%) $750M to $999.9M (17%)
$1B to $4.9B (28%) $5B to $9.9B (11%) $10B or more (11%)

Countries

world
  • 0
  • 250
  • 500
Responses by Country

Industries

11% (85) 11% (85) 11% (84) 10% (82) 10% (78) 10% (77) 4% (35) 4% (35) 4% (31) 4% (29) 3% (27) 3% (25) 0% 5% 10% 15% Retail Manufacturing Technology (Hardware, Software) Banking and Financial Services Healthcare Business, Professional, and Technical Services Government and Public Sector Telecommunications Utilities and Energy Travel and Hospitality Agriculture, Mining, and Construction Wholesale
11% (85) 11% (85) 11% (84) 10% (82) 10% (78) 10% (77) 4% (35) 4% (35) 4% (31) 4% (29) 3% (27) 3% (25) 0% 5% 10% 15% Retail Manufacturing Technology (Hardware, Software) Banking and Financial Services Healthcare Business, Professional, and Technical Services Government and Public Sector Telecommunications Utilities and Energy Travel and Hospitality Agriculture, Mining, and Construction Wholesale
11% (85) 11% (85) 11% (84) 10% (82) 10% (78) 10% (77) 4% (35) 4% (35) 4% (31) 4% (29) 3% (27) 3% (25) 0% 15% Retail Manufacturing Technology (Hardware, Software) Banking and Financial Services Healthcare Business, Professional, and Technical Services Government and Public Sector Telecommunications Utilities and Energy Travel and Hospitality Agriculture, Mining, and Construction Wholesale

Respondents rated their organization’s speed of response to disruption and quality of outcomes across each of the five core strategy-to-execution competencies. The researchers categorized Strategy Execution Leaders, Challengers, and Laggards based on the following methodology:

  • Calculate average score for 5 components of ‘how fast’ (Speed) and average score for ‘rate the quality’ (Quality): Access and analyze data for decision making, Pivot strategies and plans, realign people and teams, reallocate funding and budgets, reprioritize work execution and delivery 
  • Create deciles of average Speed scores and create deciles of average Quality scores
  • Add decile position within Fast to decile position in Quality (for example, if respondent was in decile 3 for Speed and decile 4 for Quality, their final score would be 7)
  • Multiply score by 5 to get a scale from 10 to 100.
  • Divide score into four nearly equal groups (almost quartiles) and create Strategy Execution Index: 
    1. Bottom Quartile = Strategy Laggards (less than 40)
    2. Middle Two Quartiles = Strategy Challengers (40 to 79)
    3. Top Quartile = Strategy Leaders (80 or more)

About Lawless Research

Lawless Research, an expert in research for the tech industry, provides companies with the business intelligence they need to make informed strategic decisions. Their rigorous and comprehensive studies help companies become thought leaders in their industries, design successful products, build brand awareness, increase customer retention, and grow their business worldwide. For more information, visit: www.lawlessresearch.com.

About Planview

Planview is the leading end-to-end platform for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) and Digital Product Development (DPD). Powered by advanced AI capabilities, Planview gives business and technology leaders the strategic foresight to prioritize investments and initiatives, make plans real within constraints, and pivot with certainty when things change. Our AI-driven connected platform of solutions, largely powered by AWS, underpins the business and digital transformations of more than 3,000 customers and 3.1 million users globally. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Planview has over 1,500 employees worldwide. Learn more at www.planview.com.