A rolling stone gathers no moss: prevent your strategic plan from stagnating

Purpose This article explains the critical importance of actually using and implementing your company's strategic plan, and offers practical tips for avoiding the most four common traps that keep a strategic plan sitting, ignored, on a shelf. Design/methodology/approach The examples cited all stem from the author's extensive experience helping companies engage in more effective strategic planning and successful implementation of the shared strategic vision. Findings Companies can effectively implement a strategic plan by understanding why a team may not implement as asked, encouraging personal motivation and “ownership” of the strategic goals, maintaining momentum in the face of daily distractions, and understanding how the “real world” works. Practical implications Executives must understand how to make their strategic plan a “living document”, and then take specific steps to keep the implementation of that plan on track. Originality/value The value of this article to corporate executives lies in its reality‐based perspective on specific techniques and tactics to use for successful implementation of a strategic plan.