Strategic Alignment

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

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Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 6e3fcbdbb5cf · 19 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisherborghei GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderborghei/Claude-Skills/c-level-advisor/strategic-alignmentThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceNOASSERTIONAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict6e3fcbdbb5cfA new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 12 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Cascades strategy from boardroom to individual contributor and detects misalignment. Use when teams pull in different directions, OKRs don't connect, departments optimize locally at company expense, or strategy doesn't…

---
name: strategic-alignment
description: >
  Cascades strategy from boardroom to individual contributor and detects
  misalignment. Use when teams pull in different directions, OKRs don't connect,
  departments optimize locally at company expense, or strategy doesn't translate
  to execution.
license: MIT + Commons Clause
metadata:
  version: 2.0.0
  author: borghei
  category: c-level
  domain: strategic-alignment
  updated: 2026-03-09
  frameworks:
    - articulation-test
    - cascade-mapping
    - orphan-detection
    - conflict-detection
    - silo-diagnosis
    - communication-gap
    - realignment-protocol
    - alignment-scoring
  triggers:
    - strategic alignment
    - strategy cascade
    - OKR alignment
    - orphan OKRs
    - conflicting goals
    - silos
    - communication gap
    - department alignment
    - alignment checker
    - strategy articulation
    - cross-functional alignment
    - goal cascade
    - misalignment
    - alignment score
    - teams pulling in different directions
    - departments not aligned
    - OKRs don't connect
    - local optimization
    - strategy communication
---
# Strategic Alignment Engine

Strategy fails at the cascade, not the boardroom. This skill detects misalignment before it becomes dysfunction and builds systems that keep strategy connected from CEO to individual contributor.

## Keywords

strategic alignment, strategy cascade, OKR alignment, orphan OKRs, conflicting goals, silos, communication gap, department alignment, strategy articulation, cross-functional alignment, goal cascade, misalignment, alignment score, local optimization, strategy communication, cascade mapping

---

## The Alignment Problem

**The further a goal gets from the strategy that created it, the less likely it reflects the original intent.**

This is the organizational telephone game. It happens at every stage. The question is how bad it is and how to fix it.

```
CEO says: "We need to win the mid-market healthcare segment"
VP hears: "Healthcare is the priority"
Director translates: "Build healthcare features"
Team executes: "Add HIPAA compliance checkbox to the roadmap"
IC works on: "HIPAA feature that nobody asked for and doesn't close deals"

Result: Effort spent, strategy not advanced.
```

---

## Clarify First

Before generating, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

- [ ] **Which deliverable is needed** (full diagnostic, cascade map, silo diagnosis, communication-gap analysis, or workshop agenda) — each uses a different step of the framework
- [ ] **The current strategy stated in one sentence** — alignment is tested against the source; if the strategy itself is vague, fix that before cascading
- [ ] **The actual goals/OKRs at company, team, and individual levels** — orphan, conflict, and coverage-gap detection needs the real cascade, not a hypothetical one
- [ ] **Company size and structure** — the 5-person test and hierarchical cascade assumptions need adapting for large or matrixed orgs

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

---

## Step 1: Strategy Articulation Test

Before checking cascade, check the source.

### The 5-Person Test

Ask five people from five different teams:

> "What is the company's most important strategic priority right now?"

| Result | Score | Diagnosis |
|--------|-------|-----------|
| All 5 give the same answer | 10/10 | Clear articulation. Check cascade. |
| 4 give similar answers | 7-8/10 | Close. Clarify the outlier. |
| 3 agree | 5-6/10 | Loose alignment. Re-communicate. |
| 2 agree | 2-4/10 | Strategy is unclear. Fix before cascade. |
| No agreement | 0-1/10 | No shared strategy exists. Start here. |

### Strategy Format Test

The strategy must be statable in one sentence.

| Format | Score |
|--------|-------|
| One clear sentence | Good |
| Two sentences | Acceptable |
| A paragraph | Too complex to cascade |
| A document | Too complex to internalize |

**Examples**:

| Bad | Why | Good |
|-----|-----|------|
| "Focus on growth while maintaining enterprise relationships and expanding internationally and investing in platform" | Four priorities = no priority | "Win the mid-market healthcare segment in DACH before Series B" |
| "Be the best at what we do" | Not falsifiable | "Reach $5M ARR by Q4 with 110%+ NRR" |
| "Customer-first approach to innovation" | Sounds nice, means nothing | "Ship the workflow automation feature that our top 10 prospects asked for" |

---

## Step 2: Cascade Mapping

Map the flow from company strategy through every organizational level.

### Cascade Visualization

```
Company Level:  Strategy Statement
                    |
                Company OKR-1    Company OKR-2    Company OKR-3
                    |                 |                 |
Dept Level:    Sales OKRs       Eng OKRs         Product OKRs
                    |                 |                 |
Team Level:    Team A OKRs      Team B OKRs       Team C OKRs
                    |                 |                 |
Individual:    Personal goals    Personal goals    Personal goals
```

### Cascade Validation Questions

For each goal at every level:

| Question | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| Which company goal does this support? | Tests upward connection |
| If achieved 100%, how much does it move the parent goal? | Tests impact significance |
| Is the connection direct or theoretical? | Tests proximity of impact |
| Who else is working on the same parent goal? | Tests coverage and overlap |

---

## Step 3: Alignment Failure Detection

Three failure patterns to detect:

### Pattern 1: Orphan Goals

Goals that don't connect to any company-level objective.

| Symptom | Root Cause | Fix |
|---------|-----------|-----|
| "We've been working on this all quarter and nobody cares" | Goals set bottom-up without reconciliation | Connect or cut. Every goal needs a parent. |
| Tea

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills
git -C Claude-Skills checkout 6e3fcbdbb5cf

Works in

1. 2026-10-19
   !CAUTION B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 6e3fcbdbb5cf

Questions about Strategic Alignment

• github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills/tree/main/c-level-advisor/strat — the audited source at commit 6e3fcbdbb5cf and every finding aboveObserved · 19 Oct 2026

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