From Theory to Practice
The Four Resolutions Framework becomes powerful when applied systematically to decisions, discussions, and strategy execution.
Context 1: For Individual Decisions
When facing any significant decision, run it through all four resolutions:
- Strategic Check: “Does this align with where things are going? Does it position me well for the future?”
- Structural Check: “Does this fit my life/career architecture? Does it strengthen my value proposition?”
- Operational Check: “Can I actually execute this? Do I have the time, energy, and resources?”
- Tactical Check: “What’s the first concrete step? What do I do tomorrow?”
If any resolution reveals a problem, you’ve found something important before committing.
Context 2: For Team Discussions
Different people naturally operate at different resolutions. Conflicts often arise from mismatch:
The Mismatch Problem:
- Strategist: “We need to pivot to AI.”
- Operator: “Our processes aren’t set up for that.”
- Tactician: “I just need to know what to do today.”
They’re all right—at their resolution level.
Resolution Fluency in Teams:
- Recognize which resolution each person operates at
- Translate insights between resolutions explicitly
- Validate decisions at all four levels before committing
- Assign a “translator” role in key meetings
- Make resolution shifts explicit: “Zooming in/out…”
Most team conflicts aren’t disagreements—they’re resolution mismatches in disguise.
Context 3: For Organizational Strategy
Most strategy-to-execution gaps are actually resolution translation failures:
- Strategic insights that never become structure
- Structural designs that never become processes
- Operational processes that never become actions
Diagnosis: “At which resolution did translation fail?”
The Organizational Fix:
- Map your strategy cascade explicitly
- Identify translation owners at each level
- Create feedback loops from tactical to strategic
- Review: “Does ground reality match our strategy?”
- Hire/promote for resolution range, not just depth
Strategy-execution gaps are resolution translation failures in disguise.
This is part of a comprehensive analysis. Read the full analysis on The Business Engineer.
More Resources
