A new study of 1,112 leaders finds the bottleneck on strategic decision-making isn't analysis. It's access.

Three out of four business leaders say they cannot consistently access the data they need to make strategic decisions, according to the 2026 State of Strategy Report released today by Cascade. The finding, based on a global survey of 1,112 professionals, points to a systemic gap in how strategic decisions are informed, despite the volume of data organizations generate.

The same study reveals a broader breakdown in execution: 77% of organizations lack effective strategy reporting, 75% say their strategy meetings fail to drive outcomes, and only 27% report that teams below the executive level understand company priorities or how their work contributes to them.

The pattern is consistent across industries and company sizes. When leaders ask how the business is tracking against its priorities, the answer isn't readily available. It has to be assembled manually, often too late to act.

The findings come as enterprises continue to invest heavily in AI tools intended to accelerate decision-making. The report suggests those investments are unlikely to deliver meaningful impact in organizations where strategic data remains fragmented across slides, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools. AI depends on structured, centralized context. Without it, it amplifies noise rather than clarity.

"Strategy has been left behind when it comes to systems and software, and the leaders we speak to feel it," said Charlie Newark-French, CEO at Cascade. "Now, AI can allow leadership teams to leapfrog their competitors. The next frontier isn't better dashboards siloed by division. It's AI that knows your strategy, ingests your operational data to understand what's going on, and tells leaders where the business needs them most, where to focus, and what decisions to make."

This research finds that strategic clarity deteriorates sharply below the executive level. Leadership teams typically define priorities clearly, but the message rarely survives the trip down the org chart. As clarity breaks down, alignment follows. 81% of respondents report that departments end up working at cross-purposes, fragmenting execution across the business.

The report calls this a structural problem, not a behavioral one. Strategy remains the only core business function without a dedicated system of record. Sales runs on CRM, finance on FP&A, operations on ERP. Strategy is still managed through documents and meetings, and without a system to support it, visibility breaks down as it moves from the boardroom to the front line.

About the report

The 2026 State of Strategy Report is based on survey responses from 1,112 professionals collected across 2024 and 2025. Respondents span North America (36%), EMEA (39%), APAC (21%), and LATAM (4%), and include CXOs and executive leaders (26%), senior management (44%), and individual contributors (30%). Company sizes range from under 100 employees to over 5,000.

The full report is available at https://hubs.ly/Q04f3GKx0

About Cascade

Cascade is the AI-powered platform for Strategy-Led Performance. We help leadership teams run the business through their strategy, not around it, by bringing strategic priorities, operational data, and governance into one system. Global customers including St. Jude, PepsiCo, WWF, and U.S. Bank use Cascade to make faster decisions and turn plans into measurable progress.

Learn more at www.cascade.app.