Some of what you describe is traceable to what happens when a company "goes zombie." Everything is transactional, and many of the job functions necessary to maintain overall credibility and position are nonetheless considered to be "unproductive" by senior management. They tolerate most functions other than finance, and only think about them "when there is a problem" that might affect stock price, reputation, relations with major customers, etc. When a company goes zombie, only the C suite matters. Everyone else is cannon fodder. And these people are focused on running quarterly cycles of revenue, largely without much time spent on strategy. The only strategies that matter are cost cutting ones, anyway. So whatever the front of the house comes up with, or the technical back end, its all just blah, blah, blah to them. Major management documents are just PR; they don't feel any obligation to take them seriously. Most of what goes on is just P&L owners jockeying for more power, money, and resources.