Thought Leadership
Research, essays, and analysis on strategy execution, organisational design, and maintained competitive advantage.
Essays
The following essays explore these ideas in greater depth.
Strategy Gets the Headlines.
Architecture Decides if You Survive.
Why bold strategies fail without the systems that carry them
When Adobe announced in 2013 that its Creative Suite would shift to a subscription-only model, the reaction was dramatic. Customers objected to the loss of ownership, analysts questioned adoption, and competitors hoped to take advantage of the discontent.
The move looked like a gamble. Yet within two years, Adobe’s subscription revenues overtook perpetual licenses. Today, more than 95 percent of the company’s annual revenue comes from recurring subscriptions.
Cameron Stewart for fifthlever.com - Aug 26, 2025
Extending Porter’s Competitive Advantage for the Age of Rapid Imitation and Artificial Intelligence
Revisiting Porter’s strategic foundations in an era where AI, rapid imitation, and constant change redefine the meaning of advantage.
Cameron Stewart for fifthlever.com - Aug 20, 2025
When Jay Barney published his seminal 1991 paper, he offered a compelling internal logic for competitive advantage. The Resource-Based View (RBV) shifted strategic thinking inward: away from external market positioning and toward the firm’s unique bundle of assets, capabilities, and competencies (Barney, 1991).
Three decades later, RBV remains one of the most cited and widely taught strategy frameworks. And yet, for leaders navigating rapid change, high-velocity learning, and continual disruption, something feels off.
Cameron Stewart for fifthlever.com - Aug 7, 2025
The strategy was bold. The message was clear. The CEO was committed.
And yet — everything slowed down.
Not catastrophically. Just subtly.
Timelines slipped. Ownership blurred.
And eventually, people quietly drifted back to what they knew.
No resistance.
No mutiny.
Just… viscosity.
Cameron Stewart for fifthlever.com - Aug 7, 2025
The strategy was good.
The ambition was clear.
The leadership team believed in it.
And yet — nothing changed.
In many organisations, strategy doesn’t fail because of vision.
It fails because the delivery environment is still shaped for the last strategy.
Structures are misaligned.
Architectures lag.
Incentives reward yesterday’s behaviour.
Cameron Stewart for fifthlever.com - Aug 6, 2025
Strategic Analysis
This section contains essays exploring the practical challenges organisations face when translating strategy into sustained results.
Drawing on research, consulting experience, and ongoing doctoral work, these articles examine how leadership, organisational design, architecture, and ways of working shape an organisation’s ability to maintain competitive advantage.
The essays complement the Five Levers framework by exploring specific themes, case patterns, and emerging management ideas.
Themes Explored
Strategy Execution
Why strong strategies often struggle to produce sustained organisational outcomes.
Organisational Viscosity
How structural friction accumulates inside organisations and slows adaptation.
Strategic Architecture
The architectural foundations that enable organisations to evolve without losing coherence.
Operating Models and Value Streams
How work structures shape the flow of value through complex organisations.
Technology and Organisational Design
Why technology adoption is ultimately an organisational design decision.