McKinsey’s strategy cycle is straightforward: design, mobilize, execute. It’s not rocket science. You decide what you are, you back it with resources, and you deliver with discipline.
Verizon had every chance to do this. The consultants were in the building. The frameworks were there. The slide decks were polished. But instead of running the cycle, the company cherry-picked the buzzwords and skipped the hard parts.
Design – What Are You, Really?
This is where the cracks showed first. Verizon never answered the basic question: are we a premium network, a media company, or a 5G pioneer? Instead of choosing, leadership tried to be all three. That’s how billions vanished into AOL and Yahoo while 5G was oversold as the silver bullet. A serious design step would have admitted the obvious — the real fight was with T-Mobile — and built around Verizon’s one true edge: the network.
Mobilize – Strategy Stuck in the Slides
Mobilization is about turning strategy into motion. Verizon never did. Money went into distractions instead of spectrum and customer value. Employees weren’t empowered. Decisions stayed locked in Basking Ridge PowerPoints. On paper, the strategy looked world-class. On the ground, nothing moved.
Execute – Where the Market Called the Bluff
Execution is the test, and Verizon failed it.
• The assumption that people would pay extra just for “5G” was never proven.
• T-Mobile stole the momentum and the growth narrative.
• Layoffs and outsourcing drained morale and capability.
Meanwhile, the “next big thing” — AI, fiber, customer experience — never got launched.
The Market’s Verdict
The stock says it all. Verizon hovers at $44 and might push $48, but that’s not growth — it’s dividend math. Wall Street treats it like a bond proxy because that’s what it has become. The growth stories — Oath, 5G, “the network of the future” — no longer convince anyone.
The Punchline
Verizon had the McKinsey playbook in hand. Hans and Sampath had the consultants, the frameworks, the binders. What they didn’t have was the discipline to use them.
And that’s why Verizon isn’t seen as a growth company anymore. It’s a dividend utility dressed up in strategy slides.