Episode #1026 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast) is now live and ready for you to listen to:

At a time when strategy has become a kind of corporate theater… carefully crafted presentations, ambitious roadmaps and bold declarations that rarely survive first contact with reality… Kevin Ertell has spent a career focused on the harder question: why execution so often fails. Kevin is the Founder and CEO of Mistere Advisory and a veteran operator whose three decades of experience include leading large-scale retail and e-commerce operations at global brands like Nike, Sur La Table, Borders, and Tower Records. Over the years he has developed a reputation as a straight-talking advisor who helps leaders turn complexity into clarity and ambition into measurable results. His work spans industries including technology, healthcare, retail, consumer goods and manufacturing, where he focuses on helping organizations align teams, simplify priorities and build the operating rhythms required to deliver on their plans. In his new book, The Strategy Trap – Why Companies Fail at Execution and How to Get It Right, Kevin draws on decades of frontline experience to tackle a frustrating reality of modern business: most strategies don’t fail on paper… they fail in the real world. Through practical frameworks like his Six Cs of Execution (Co-creation, Clarity, Capacity, Communication, Coordination and Coaching) he argues that strategy and execution must begin in the same room, with teams co-creating the plan and committing to disciplined follow-through. Kevin explores how incentives shape behavior, why organizations must slow down to create clarity before accelerating, and how leadership cultures built around coaching and collaboration can unlock real momentum. Grounded in operational experience rather than theory, his work reframes strategy not as a planning exercise but as a team sport that requires alignment, accountability and relentless focus on execution. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Thinking With Mitch Joel here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose): #1026 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast).

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