About this series The Middle Ground is where strategy meets reality. Hosted by Dr. Kathryn Ritchie, the series brings together business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and thinkers for candid conversations about what it actually takes to turn ambition into performance. Beyond the extremes, the buzzwords and the polished strategy decks lies the middle ground—the place where difficult choices are made, capabilities are built and execution determines value. This is where strategy becomes action, leadership becomes capability, and organizations learn how to grow. In this episode of The Middle Ground, Dr. Kathryn Ritchie sits down with Stuart Udell, CEO of Prometric, for a candid conversation about what separates organizations that formulate good strategy from those that actually execute it. Stuart argues that while strategy is critical, execution is often the harder discipline—and the place where most organizations fall short. He walks through how Prometric translates mission and vision into a layered strategy architecture: from market choices and competitive advantage, down through growth and enabling strategies, initiatives, tasks, owners and due dates. The result is a 1,300-line dynamic execution plan that becomes the backbone of cross-functional business reviews every six weeks. Key themes from the conversation: Strategy versus execution. Most companies have a viable strategy; far fewer have the discipline to execute it. Execution is where value is won or lost.The strategy cascade. Mission and vision → Uber strategy → growth and enabling strategies → initiatives → individual tasks, each with clear ownership and accountability.Talent to value. Identify the 25 roles that drive the most value, define the attributes that matter, and decide whether to coach, support or change the fit.Alignment is king. Speed without alignment is dangerous. Alignment requires shared ownership, cross-functional reporting and a rhythm of accountability.Cross-functional QBRs. Report by strategy, not by function. Bring the people working on the initiative into the room, not just the senior leaders.Culture through involvement. When people help build the plan, it becomes our plan, not the CEO's plan. Eliminate internal politics and communication problems so the team can focus on the work.Leadership humility. Treat people as circles, not triangles. Walk the floor, do skip levels, visit customers, and stay self-reflective as a leader.Mission and business. Revenue and profit are a byproduct of doing the right thing for customers and candidates. Serve both stakeholders well and the results follow.Operational metrics. Find the handful of metrics that really drive value—like Prometric's displacement rate—and make them visible to everyone.AI as a competitive enabler. Use AI where it creates genuine advantage, where it protects mission-critical work like security, and where it can be responsibly driven through the whole organization.
