A Manager's Guide to Successful Strategy Implementation

Strategy implementation is the process of turning plans into action to reach a desired outcome. Essentially, it's the art of getting stuff done. …→ HarvardBusinessSchool→ HBSOnline→ BusinessInsights→ BusinessInsights HarvardBusinessSchoolOnline'sBusinessInsightsBlogprovidesthecareerinsightsyouneedtoachieveyourgoalsandgainconfidenceinyourbusinessskills.   FilterResults ArrowDown ArrowUp Topics Topics Accounting Analytics BusinessEssentials BusinessinSociety CareerDevelopment Communication Community ConneXt Decision-Making EarningYourMBA Entrepreneurship&Innovation Finance Leadership Management Marketing Negotiation News&Events Productivity StaffSpotlight Strategy StudentProfiles Technology Work-LifeBalance Courses Courses AlternativeInvestments BusinessAnalytics BusinessStrategy CORe DesignThinkingandInnovation DisruptiveStrategy EconomicsforManagers EntrepreneurshipEssentials FinancialAccounting GlobalBusiness LeadershipPrinciples LeadingwithFinance ManagementEssentials NegotiationMastery OrganizationalLeadership PowerandInfluenceforPositiveImpact StrategyExecution SustainableBusinessStrategy SustainableInvesting SubscribetotheBlog RSSfeed Filters Topics Topics Accounting Analytics BusinessEssentials BusinessinSociety CareerDevelopment Communication Community ConneXt Decision-Making EarningYourMBA Entrepreneurship&Innovation Finance Leadership Management Marketing Negotiation News&Events Productivity StaffSpotlight Strategy StudentProfiles Technology Work-LifeBalance Courses Courses AlternativeInvestments BusinessAnalytics BusinessStrategy CORe DesignThinkingandInnovation DisruptiveStrategy EconomicsforManagers EntrepreneurshipEssentials FinancialAccounting GlobalBusiness LeadershipPrinciples LeadingwithFinance ManagementEssentials NegotiationMastery OrganizationalLeadership PowerandInfluenceforPositiveImpact StrategyExecution SustainableBusinessStrategy SustainableInvesting SubscribetotheBlog RSSfeed AManager’sGuidetoSuccessfulStrategyImplementation 25Feb2020 KelseyMiller Author Contributors tag Management ManagementEssentials Toaddressnewchallengesandbusinessconcerns,organizationsmustconstantlymonitor,evaluate,andadjusttheirstrategicinitiatives.Whenanewstrategyneedstobeimplemented,it’stypicallyuptomanagerstoensureitrollsoutsuccessfully. Whetheryou’reanaspiring,new,orseasonedmanager,understandingthestrategyimplementationprocessandhowitrelatestoorganizationalchangeiscriticaltoensuringyoucanbeeffectiveoverthecourseofyourcareer. Here’sanoverviewofstrategyimplementation,aswellasastep-by-stepguideyoucanusetomoreeffectivelybringaboutchangewithinyourbusiness. FreeE-Book:HowtoFormulateaSuccessfulBusinessStrategy Accessyourfreee-booktoday. DOWNLOADNOW WhatIsStrategyImplementation? Ifyou'rerelativelynewtomanagement,youmightbewonderingwhattheterm“strategyimplementation”means. Strategyimplementationistheprocessofturningplansintoactiontoreachadesiredoutcome.Essentially,it’stheartofgettingstuffdone.Thesuccessofeveryorganizationrestsonitscapacitytoimplementdecisionsandexecutekeyprocessesefficiently,effectively,andconsistently.Buthowdoyouensurethatimplementingastrategywillbesuccessful? IntheonlinecourseManagementEssentials,HarvardBusinessSchoolProfessorDavidGarvinsayssuccessfullyimplementingandexecutingstrategyinvolves“deliveringwhat’splannedorpromisedontime,onbudget,atquality,andwithminimumvariability—eveninthefaceofunexpectedeventsandcontingencies." Whiledevelopingastrategyisoneofthefirststepstoimplementingorganizationalchange,theimplementationitselfisvitaltoacompany’ssuccess.Withoutanefficientimplementationprocess,eventhebest-laidplansmaynotcometofruition. Ifyou'reamanagerwhowantstoimplementstrategicchangewithinyourorganization,followthesesevenstepstointroduceandrolloutanewstrategysuccessfully. 7KeyStepsintheImplementationProcess 1.SetClearGoalsandDefineKeyVariables Thefirststepoftheprocessisstraightforward:Youmustidentifythegoalsthatthenewstrategyshouldachieve.Withoutaclearpictureofwhatyou’retryingtoattain,itcanbedifficulttoestablishaplanforgettingthere. Onecommonmistakewhengoalsetting—whetherrelatedtopersonalgrowth,professionaldevelopment,orbusiness—issettingobjectivesthatareimpossibletoreach.Remember:Goalsshouldbeattainable.Settinggoalsthataren’trealisticcanleadyouandyourteamtofeeloverwhelmed,uninspired,deflated,andpotentiallyburntout. Toavoidinadvertentlycausinglowmorale,reviewtheoutcomesandperformances—boththesuccessesandfailures—ofpreviouschangeinitiativestodeterminewhat’srealisticgivenyourtimeframeandresources.Usethispastexperiencetodefinewhatsuccesslookslike. Anotherimportantaspectofgoalsettingistoaccountforvariablesthatmayhinderyourteam’sabilitytoreachthemandtolayoutcontingencyplans.Thebetterpreparedyouare,themoresuccessfultheimplementationwilllikelybe. 2.DetermineRoles,Responsibilities,andRelationships Onceyou’vedeterminedthegoalsyou’reworkingtowardandthevariablesthatmightgetinyourway,youshouldbuildaroadmapforachievingthosegoals,setexpectationsamongyourteam,andclearlycommunicateyourimplementationplan,sothere’snoconfusion. Inthisphase,itcanbehelpfultodocumentalloftheresourcesavailable,includingtheemployees,teams,anddepartmentsthatwillbeinvolved.Outlineaclearpictureofwhateachresourceisresponsibleforachieving,andestablishacommunicationprocessthateveryoneshouldadhereto. Implementingstrategicplansrequiresstrongrelationshipsand,asamanager,you’llbeinchargeoftellingpeoplenotonlyhowtointeractwitheachotherandhowoften,butalsowhothedecision-makersare,who’saccountableforwhat,andwhattodowhenanunforeseenissuearises. 3.DelegatetheWork Onceyouknowwhatneedstobedonetoensuresuccess,determinewhoneedstodowhatandwhen.Refertoyouroriginaltimelineandgoallist,anddelegatetaskstotheappropriateteammembers. Youshouldexplainthebigpicturetoyourteamsotheyunderstandthecompany'svisionandmakesureeveryoneknowstheirspecificresponsibilities.Also,setdeadlinestoavoidoverwhelmingindividuals.Rememberthatyourjobasamanageristoachievegoalsandkeepyourteamon-task,sotrytoavoidtheurgetomicromanage. 4.ExecutethePlan,MonitorProgressandPerformance,andProvideContinuedSupport Next,you’llneedtoputtheplanintoaction.Oneofthemostdifficultskillstolearnasamanagerishowtoguideandsupportemployeeseffectively.Whileyourfocuswilllikelybeondelegationmuchofthetime,it’simportanttomakeyourselfavailabletoanswerquestionsyouremployeesmighthave,oraddresschallengesandroadblockstheymaybeexperiencing. Checkinwithyourteamregularlyabouttheirprogressandlistentotheirfeedback. Oneeffectivestrategyformonitoringprogressistousedaily,weekly,andmonthlystatusreportsandcheck-instoprovideupdates,re-establishduedatesandmilestones,andensureallteamsarealigned. Related:HowtoGiveFeedbackEffectively 5.TakeCorrectiveAction(AdjustorRevise,asNecessary) Implementationisaniterativeprocess,sotheworkdoesn’tstopassoonasyouthinkyou’vereachedyourgoal.Processescanchangemid-course,andunforeseenissuesorchallengescanarise.Sometimes,youroriginalgoalswillneedtoshiftasthenatureoftheprojectitselfchanges. It’smoreimportanttobeattentive,flexible,andwillingtochangeorreadjustplansasyouoverseeimplementationthanitistoblindlyadheretoyouroriginalgoals. Periodicallyaskyourselfandyourteam:Doweneedtoadjust?Ifso,how?Doweneedtostartover?Theanswerstothesequestionscanproveinvaluable. 6.GetClosureontheProject,andAgreementontheOutput Everyoneontheteamshouldagreeonwhatthefinalproductshouldlooklikebasedonthegoalssetatthebeginning.Whenyou’vesuccessfullyimplementedyourstrategy,checkinwitheachteammemberanddepartmenttomakesuretheyhaveeverythingtheyneedtofinishthejobandfeelliketheirworkiscomplete. You’llneedtoreporttoyourmanagementteam,sogatherinformation,details,andresultsfromyouremployees,sothatyoucanpaintanaccuratepicturetoleadership. 7.ConductaRetrospectiveorReviewofHowtheProcessWent Onceyourstrategyhasbeenfullyimplemented,lookbackontheprocessandevaluatehowthingswent.Askyourselfquestionslike: Didweachieveourgoals? Ifnot,why?Whatstepsarerequiredtogetustothosegoals? Whatroadblocksorchallengesemergedoverthecourseoftheprojectthatcouldhavebeenanticipated?Howcanweavoidthesechallengesinthefuture? Ingeneral,whatlessonscanwelearnfromtheprocess? Whilefailureisneverthegoal,anunsuccessfulorflawedstrategyimplementationcanproveavaluablelearningexperienceforanorganization,solongastimeistakentounderstandwhatwentwrongandwhy. LearningHowtoOverseeStrategyImplementation Successfulstrategyimplementationcanbechallenging,anditrequiresstrongleadershipandmanagementskills.Effectivedelegation,patience,emotionalintelligence,thoroughorganizationalabilities,andcommunicationskillsarecrucial. Ifyou’relookingtobuildyourskillsandbecomeabettermanager,considertakingaleadershipormanagementcoursethatalignswithyourpersonalandprofessionalgoals.Managementtrainingcoursesareoftenflexibleindesignbutoffercritical,hands-onlearningopportunitiesprovidedbyleadingindustryexpertsthatcanbeappliedtoanyprofession. Doyouwanttoimproveyourmanagementskills?Exploreoureight-weekonlinecourseManagementEssentials,andlearnhowyoucanspearheadinitiativesthatenableyourorganizationtoimproveandinnovate. AbouttheAuthorKelseyMillerisamarketingspecialistandcontributingwriterforHarvardBusinessSchoolOnline.