Strategy Execution: The Essential Guide - Hirebook

A more proper definition would be “strategy execution is translating an organization's strategic initiatives into action”. It is the crucial step after a long ... Intro WhatisStrategyImplementationandExecution? WhyisStrategyExecutionImportant? DissectingaStrategy CreationoftheStrategy StrategicPlanning HowtoExecuteaStrategySuccessfully? Communication OrganizationalResources AddressingEfforts StrategyExecutionDoneRight Intro Agreatstrategyorinnovativeproductcanputyouinthespotlightforamoment,butyouwon’tlastthereifyoudon’thaveasolidandstrongexecution.Fillinginthegapbetweenstrategicplanningandexecutioncanbewhat'skeepingyouawayfromaproperstrategicexecution. Havingagoodstrategyisnotevenhalfthebattle,therealstruggleisexecutingyourstrategyandkeepingitgoing.Andgettingtoyourtargetgoalisnottheendofit,youstillneedanotherstrategytomovefromthatpointon,andsoon.  WhatisStrategyImplementationandExecution? Strategyexecutionhasbecomeahottopicwithinmanagement.Itisestimatedthatover60%ofstrategiesarenotsuccessfullyimplemented.Seniorexecutiveshaverevealedthateffectivestrategyexecutionisoneoftheirmostchallengingmatters.Ifyou’veevertriedtoexecuteastrategy,chancesareyouagreewiththisstatement.    IfyouaskyourmanagerwhathethinksStrategyExecutionis,he’llprobablyanswersomethinglike“thesuccessfulimplementationofaplan”or“followthroughwithyourstrategy”.Thesestatementsmightbesomewhattrue,butitdoesn’treallytelluseverythingthatstrategyexecutionentailsandhowtosuccessfullydoittodrivetopresults.   Amoreproperdefinitionwouldbe“strategyexecutionistranslatinganorganization’sstrategicinitiativesintoaction”.Itisthecrucialstepafteralongplanningprocess,anditisextremelyimportanttodoitrightnotjusttomaketheplanningprocessworthit,buttoobtainthebestoutcomes. WhyisStrategyExecutionImportant? Tosumitup,bigcorporationsandleadersspendhundredsofhoursanddollarsonstrategicinitiativesthatareoftennotexecutedasintended.Thiscandeprivecustomersofinnovativetechnologyorserviceifacompanyfailstoexecuteamarketingorsellingstrategytoitstargetcustomers. Intheend,nomatterhowamazinglybrilliantastrategylooksonpaper,itcanonlyshinewhenputintoactionineverydayactivities. Researchindicatesthatover80%ofstrategiesfail.Andtheyfailnotbecausethey'reincorrect,theyfailbecausethey'renotcorrectlyexecuted.Day-to-dayaspeopledotheirdailywork,thisworkisnotalignedtotheStrategicobjectivesorpriorities. Thisresultsinaconsiderablewasteofeffortandresourcesaspeoplefromacrosstheorganizationworkinoppositiontotwootheractivities.Asuccessfulcompanyreliesnotonlyonitsmanagers’shoulders,butalsoontheirteams’;everyemployeenomattertheirpositionorhierarchyhasanimportantroletoplay,andifonepieceisnotproperlyexecutingtheirjob,thewholestrategycouldfail. DissectingaStrategy Itcanbedifficulttochangeyouremployees’mindsetfromafullyoperationalframeworktoastrategicexecutionframeworkandgettingeveryoneinvolvedinwhatthewholecompanyneedsandhowtheyfitintothoseneeds.  Effectiveandsuccessfulstrategyexecutionrequiresthattheiremployeeshavediscipline,andthisisachievedthroughsettingdetailedanddoabletaskstomovethecompanystrategyfrompaperintoaction.Toachievestrategicgoals,astrategyneedstobecreatedthroughastrategicplanthatcanbefollowed. CreationoftheStrategy Manycompaniesstrugglewithgrowthbecausetheirstrategiesarebasedonwrongassumptionsregardingwhatcustomerswant,whattheirteamsarecapableof,orwhatthecompetitionisdoing.Nothavingclearinformationtoplanthestrategywilleventuallyresultinbumpsintheroadthatwillonlydelaytheexecutionandpreventthestrategy’ssuccess.  Whencreatingyourstrategy,it’simportanttotestdifferentscenarios,usingmechanismstoidentifyandchallengestrategicassumptionstogetaheadofwhateverissuesarepossibletoappearandpreventimplementation. StrategicPlanning Oftenorganizationsholdstrategicplanningmeetingsspendinghundredsofhours,andtherefore,money.Butalloftheseeffortscangotowastewhenthere arenotclearstrategicgoalsandtargetalignmentthroughouttheorganization,preventingasuccessfulexecutionoftheorganizationalstrategythattooksomanyhourstoplan. Donotmissthemainfocusduringthestrategicplanningprocess,chooseaverticalalignmentgoingthroughcorporateandbusinessunits,andchooseahorizontalalignmentacrossbusinessunitsandoperationalones.Whendiscussingthestrategywithyourteams,bespecificregardingtheobjectivesandrolesforeveryoneineachbusinessunit. Keepinmindthateveryhourheldtothestrategydevelopmentshouldbeputtogooduse,soleavenoroomforconfusion.Ittakeswaylesstimetogetalignedthanitcostsnottobe;eachquarterpeoplehave530hourstocontributetovictory,andittakesabout5hourstosetproperOKRsthatmaximizetheircontribution. HowtoExecuteaStrategySuccessfully? Yes,everyoneisakeypiecewhenit’stimetoexecuteastrategy,butitisuptothecorporateleaderstoverifyeverythingisgoingaccordingtoplan;andthisstrategicplancouldsometimesshiftdependingontheever-changingmarkets.Wecannotalwayspredicthowthemarketisgoingtoreactorrespondtodifferentsituations,butwecananticipateourselveswithbackupstrategiesandpreparingourseniorleaderstofacetheseemergingthreatsandnotwasteprecioustimeworkingonastrategicplanthat’sboundtofaileventually. Thetechniqueslistedbelowareintendedtohelpmanagersunderstandthecomplexitiesofstrategyimplementationandtoprovideguidanceontheaspectsthatwillhelpcompaniesachieveasuccessfulstrategyexecution.   Ensurethatplansarealignedwiththeorganizationalmission,vision,andcorevalues Ifyourorganization’sstrategiesexhibitbehaviorsthatareinconflictwithyourvalues,youwillseeagradualdegradationinyourcultureandengagement,asyouremployeesseethatyouare“justkidding”aroundyourcorevalues. BuildaneffectiveleadershipteamDetermineyourteam'sworkstrictlyintermsofitsendgoal-whatistheoutcomethisteamischarteredtodeliver?Oncewe'vedeterminedwherewearegoingtodrivethebus(whatthegoalsareforthisteam)wecanthensortoutwhoarethebestpeopleonthebustositinwhichseats(whoshouldbeplayingwhatrolesintheteaminordertodrivemaximumeffectiveness). CreateanimplementationplanSettingyourteam’simplementationplandependsonthepeoplethatmakeuptheteam,playtotheirstrengths,andsetOKRswithrealisticdeadlines.Havefrequentmeetingstoanalyzewhethertheimplementationofthestrategyisgoingaccordingtoplanorifthereisaneedtomakechanges. AllocatebudgetaryresourcesIt’scommonforcompaniestotrytoexecuteastrategyworkingtheirwayaroundbudgeting,andeventhoughit’simportantnottosplurge,don’tbeafraidtoallocatethemonetaryresourceswhenneeded.Youcouldendupspendingmoremoneymakingupforthemistakeofnotbudgetingfromthebeginning. AssignobjectivesandresponsibilitiesThismaysoundself-explanatorybutkeepinmindthatsometimeswethinksomeresponsibilitiesandobjectivesareintendedwithinothers,butrememberyoucan’tleaveanygreyareaswhenexecutingastrategy. Alignstructuresandend-to-endprocessesWithoutthealignmentofend-to-endprocesses,youriskcustomersatisfaction.Ifyourorganizationisstructuredasfunctionalsiloswithlittleinteraction,you’relikelytobuyorbuilddifferentsystemsforeachdepartmentthatalsocommunicatepoorly.Maintaincommunicationtoalignstructuresthroughouttheorganizationandfindsuccessfromstarttofinish. AlignpeopleAligningyourpeoplestartsfromyourcompany’scorevaluesallthewayuptotheirgoalsandtasks.Withoutastrongfoundation,youwon’tbeabletoaligneveryonetowardsacommonbenefit. CommunicatethestrategyAsobviousasitsounds,youcan’texpectyourteamtoexecuteastrategysuccessfullyifit’snotwellcommunicated.We’llgodeeperintothispointlaterinthearticle. ReviewandreportonprogressMakesuretosetweeklyorbiweeklymeetingswithyourteamtoreviewprogressandmakethoroughreports.Thisistheonlywaytomakesureyourstrategyisonitswaytosuccessandtofixwhateverchallengescomeyourway. MakestrategicadjustmentsasnecessaryDon’tbeafraidtore-strategize.Evenifyourteamisperformingwell,therecanbeoutsidefactorsthatcannegativelyaffectyourimplementationofthestrategy.Everytimeyoureviewyourprogress,analyzeifyoushouldmakeadjustments. DevelopanorganizationalculturethatsupportsthestrategyThecultureofacompanyisthebackboneofeveryprocessanddepartment,itdefinesthepersonalityofyourorganizationandrepresentsyourvalues.Thisbackboneneedstosupportnotonlyyourorganizationbutthewaytoexecuteyourstrategies. Havingasystemtomonitortheperformanceanddevelopmentofthecompany'sstrategyisakeyelementforsuccessfulstrategyexecutionandachievingstrategicgoals.WhenassigningyouremployeesOKRsand/orKPIs,holdthemaccountableandaskthemtokeepyouupdatedontheirperformance.Usingaprojectandperformancemanagementdashboardcandetermineifunderperformanceistheresultofashiftinthemarket,amisleadingstrategy,orsimplypoorexecutionfromyourteam. Communication Alotoftheproblemscompaniesfacetodayrevolvearoundalackofcommunication.Sometimeswearen’tclearenough,sometimesweareafraidtoaskquestionsorhaveahardtimeadmittingwedon’tfullyunderstandwhatwehavetodoandjustwingitexpectingthebestresults…whichobviouslydoesn’tworkout. Butthetruthisthattoexecuteagoodstrategy,itsimplementationcompletelydependsona100%understanding(andsupporting)ofsuchstrategy.Still, Behindasuccessfulstrategyimplementationliesaneffectivecommunicationstrategy,onethatmotivatesemployeestothriveandavoidsresistancefromemployeestoperformsatisfactorily. EmployeeEngagementplaysahugeparthere.Rememberthatengagedemployeestransmitmotivationtotheirpeers,andanemployeecommittedtoaspecificbusinessstrategycangetmoresupporttowardsitfromotheremployees.Maintainatwo-waycommunicationchannelbetweenkeymanagersandemployeestocontinuemotivatingandengagingemployeesinordertoachievethecompany’sstrategicgoals. OrganizationalResources Unfortunately,it’scommontoseemanycompaniesfailingtoallocateresourcesstrategicallyfortheimplementationofstrategies.Acommonmistakeistoheavilyrelyonthecreationofthebusinessstrategy,planning,andOKRsandKPIsimplementation.Butwhatabouttheloopholes? Researchshowsthat There’salwaysoneormoreareaswheretheperformanceispoororthere’salackofcoordinationonastrategicplan.Theresultofpoorcoordinationisasubstantialreductionintheoverallcapacityoftheorganization,andthisisbecomingquiteanissue. Anincreaseinthecross-organizationaldialogueandcarefulcommunicationbetweendepartmentscanthoroughlyhelpidentifythesedeficienciesandconflictsbeforetheyhappen.  AddressingEfforts Therearefourareasorganizationsneedtoaddresstoeasilyimprovethelikelihoodofasuccessfulstrategyexecution: 1.Accuratelycascadethestrategydowntheorganizationand/orbuildthestrategyupfromthegrassroots.Thisisnottheongoingdebateaboutwhetherthestrategyshouldbetalkeddownorbottom-up,butrathertheneedtoensurestrategicalignmentwhetheritisestablishedfromthetop-down,orbottom-up. Whatweseefrequentlyisastrategysetatthetop,suchas“enternewmarketswithourexistingproducts”getsrestatedandrestatedandrestatedasit'scascadeddowntheorganization,andbythetimeitisreviewedatthefrontlinethatsamestrategyisarticulatedas“growourexistingmarketswithnewproducts”.  Thisisreminiscentofthechildgame“brokentelephone”,whereasastorygetsrepeatedfromchildtochildanditgraduallychanges,untilitendsupbeingsomethingeithersomewhatorentirelydifferent.   2.Clearlysettingcorporatepriorities.Notalloftheorganization’sstrategicobjectivesareequallyimportant.Itiscriticalthattheorganizationunderstandswhichobjectivesaremoreimportant.Moment-to-momentdepartments,teamsandemployeesaremakingstrategicdecisionsbetweendoingactivity'A'andactivity'B'withouttheproperframeworktomakeaninformeddecision.Again,theoutputhereismisalignmentacrosstheorganizationandemployeesworkinginoppositiontoeachother. Itisalsoimportanttonotethatthesestrategicprioritiesshiftovertime.Backwhenmanyofthefoundationalbusinessbooksandpracticeswereestablished,forexampleinthe1960swithPeterDrucker,aphilosophyofannualstrategicplanningwasestablished.Withthecurrentpaceofbusinessandbusinessturbulence,wefeelthatinmanycasesevenaquarterlystrategyupdateistooinfrequent.TheCOVIDlockdownsof2020areaclassicexamplewhereannualorevenquarterlystrategicrefreshesaretooinfrequent.   3.Strategicgoalsandobjectivesneedclearownerstoensuresuccess.Peopleneedtoknowwhatthey'reaccountablefor,andeventhetypeofaccountabilitytheyhave.ThisiswhereConceptslikeRACIandRAPIDallowforclearroleclarityandresponsibilities.Frameworksthatensureallofusworktherightwayontherighttasks.   4.Establishingalearningorganization.Someoneoncesaid,“everystrategicbattleplanfailsonfirstcontactwiththeEnemy”(nottheexactquotefromHelmuthvonMoltketheElder).Thesamehappensinyourorganization.Daytodayasthemarketschange,yourproductdevelopmentprocessmovesforward(ornot), competitorsenterandleavethemarket,etc.,theplansyoumadeatthebeginningoftheyearquicklygetoutdatedbyday-to-dayevents. Itiscriticalthatyoubuildintoyourorganizationtheabilitytoquicklygatherdata,putitintostrategiccontact,learnfromwhatisrecorded,andactwithagilityinresponse.Thispracticeofagilemanagementwilldifferentiatethewinnersfromthelosers.  PillarPage English