Every company has a strategy. Some even have great ones — clear goals, strong positioning, solid metrics. But let’s be honest: strategy is the easy part. Execution? That’s where companies win or lose.
As someone who’s spent years in Revenue Operations and recently completed Harvard’s Strategy Execution program, I’ve seen this story play out a few times. A flashy go-to-market (GTM) strategy gets buy-in from the top, backed by slide decks, metrics, and good intentions. But execution doesn’t live in PowerPoint. It lives in shipping labels, customer hold times, and the cracks between your departments.
Let me tell you a true story that illustrates just how costly those cracks can be — using the Harvard framework and what I call the “Four Ps” of strategy execution.
The $1,000 Dog Crate That Lost a Customer
My wife recently ordered a premium dog crate from DIGGS, a direct-to-consumer brand with a great product and excellent marketing. If you’ve ever Googled dog crates, you’ve probably seen their ads — sleek, modern, and expensive. By the time you add all the extras, this crate was pushing $1,000.
Clearly, their go-to-market strategy is doing its job. They’ve positioned themselves as a high-end alternative in a commodity space. Their PPC spend is likely high, so their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is, too. But their product has solid margins, and the brand feels elevated. So far, so good.
Then came the breakdown.
First, they sent part of the order (the bed) to the correct address. But the remaining packages — including the actual crate — went to our old house… a house we sold nearly three years ago.
How did Diggs even have that address? We still don’t know. And worse, neither do they.
Customer support over the weekend? Non-existent. Their site claims you can text or call — we tried both. Crickets. Monday rolls around, and my wife spends 20 minutes on hold before giving up. Eventually, a rep called back, completely baffled. No clue about the missing package. No explanation for the old address. And no ability to fix the situation in time for our puppy’s arrival.
No, “We’ll overnight a replacement crate.”
No, “We’ll send a temporary solution.”
Just a refund and a lost customer.
Execution Breakdown: Harvard’s 4Ps Framework
Harvard’s strategy execution model, which we studied in-depth, revolves around aligning four levers of control with business strategy:
- Perspective (Belief Systems) – What do we believe in?
- Position (Boundary Systems) – Where do we compete and where don’t we?
- Plans (Diagnostic Controls) – Are we hitting our targets?
- Patterns of Action (Interactive Controls) – What are we learning and adapting in real-time?
Let’s analyze the Diggs failure through this lens:
Perspective (Belief Systems): Core Values Ignored
Diggs positions itself as a premium, customer-first brand. But where were those values in this interaction? When you charge $1,000 for a crate, the customer experience must match — especially post-sale. The rep should have been empowered to make it right, not just apologize.
Position (Boundary Systems): Where’s the Line?
Where are the clear boundaries for customer service standards? Is it acceptable to lose a sale due to a logistics error? If so, that’s a strategy problem. If not, it’s an execution failure.
Diggs crossed a line here: you should never lose a sale to operations — that’s fully within your control.
Stop for a second and reread that line: you should never lose a sale to operations.
Let’s break that down with a few common examples from the trenches:
- Legal took too long to return redlines, and the prospect moved forward with a competitor who could move faster.
- The service team never followed up to schedule the kickoff after the contract was signed — and the client walked.
- Billing sent the wrong invoice three times, and the deal stalled while the buyer lost confidence.
- Procurement wasn’t set up to handle international payments, so a global client dropped the deal in frustration.
- Customer success failed to deliver onboarding in time, so the renewal was dead before it even started.
These aren’t pricing issues. They’re not product issues. They’re execution failures — and they’re completely avoidable.
In Diggs’ case, it was a shipping mishap and a missed opportunity to make it right. But in any industry, the moment you start losing revenue due to your own internal friction, you’re not in control of your strategy anymore. Execution is.
Plans (Diagnostic Systems): Metrics Without Meaning
Their CAC is probably well above average — especially with their polished GTM engine and paid ad budget. But are they tracking Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) relative to fulfillment efficiency and post-sale experience? I doubt it. Metrics only matter if they reflect execution health, not just acquisition.
Patterns of Action (Interactive Systems): Where’s the Feedback Loop?
No support escalation. No internal investigation into how an outdated address was resurrected. No overnight action plan. If Diggs had strong feedback loops between ops, customer service, and leadership, this mistake would’ve triggered a learning moment — and a corrective action.
Instead, they lost the sale. And worse, the trust.
The Cost of Execution Failure
Strategy gets the spotlight, but execution gets the customer.
When a company asks me to review or help with their GTM strategy, the first thing I say is: “Let’s walk through your metrics and stress points using the 4 Ps.” Because that’s where the truth lives.
Diggs did so many things right — the product, the ads, the branding. But the moment of truth wasn’t in a marketing funnel. It was in a driveway at the wrong house and a missed opportunity to recover a customer relationship.
Execution isn’t glamorous. But it’s everything.
P.S. If you’re in RevOps, GTM, or customer experience — and you’re still losing sales to your own operations — the problem isn’t your strategy. It’s your execution.
Disclaimer: I’m sure this was a one-off experience, and Diggs likely has hundreds of satisfied customers and solid reviews. The point of this post isn’t to single out the brand — it’s to show how even strong companies can fumble the ball when execution slips. It’s a reminder to all of us: success isn’t just about getting the order — it’s about delivering on the promise.
