Let’s Hit the Easy Button (Bridging the Strategic Gap #4)

So how does one begin to confront the challenges just noted?

Because most companies struggle with strategic implementation, it’s easy to be cynical of any sort of “guide” for bridging this gap between strategy and execution. I find that when many face a challenging issue, they try to make it more complicated and complex than it really is; the same can be said with this issue of executing your strategy.

But I would like to make a change in course to overcome this gap. Instead of making this challenge more complex and difficult, let’s simplify. Let’s make it so easy that it’s nearly impossible to fail. Here’s how:

Sound Strategy

A sound strategy is the most important element of the implementation process. No matter how great your leadership and communication the fact is this: flawed strategy begets poor execution. It’s like giving your managers a pile of coal and expecting them to make a gold statue…it can’t be done.

Clear Responsibility

Ensure that everyone in your company knows their responsibilities. As basic as it sounds, this is where many organizations spin their wheels;  because responsibilities are unclear, people spend their time going back and forth changing other manager’s decisions… all the while time is wasting away. Managers must have a clear picture of execution accountability. (who, what, when)

Information Flows

Information must flow freely throughout the organization. Think of your company as a new BMW. When information is shared, the components work as one and the car is an extraordinary machine; but the moment information stops flowing, that spells disaster. The steering wheel stops communicating with the wheels, the accelerator and brakes decide to do their own thing…you get the point, it’s not a pretty picture. Managers must share information, collaborate, and coordinate activities in order to achieve strategic success.

So there you have it, the layman’s plan to bringing the gap between strategy and execution. I didn’t just pull this out of a magic hat. After researching and reviewing numerous studies (such as HBR’s “The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution” below), these three components are at the heart of all strategic success.

Taken from HBR's “The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution”

A BRILLIANT STRATEGY CAN PUT YOU ON THE COMPETITIVE MAP.

BUT ONLY EFFECTIVE EXECUTION WILL KEEP YOU THERE.

The Strategic Road is Full of Potholes (Bridging the Strategic Gap #3)

In my last entry I submitted the argument that strategy and execution are independent, yet forever intertwined. Strategy is the left hand, execution the right; the left must wash the right and the right must wash the left. They rely on one another.

However, many organizations struggle with this strategy/execution relationship. Lets identify some of the hurdles that bring about this disconnect.

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

If you don’t know how to execute, then how can you possibly know if your plan is being perfectly or poorly executed? The answer is you can’t;  you don’t know what you don’t know.

This stems from the fact that management in most organizations is focused on strategy formulation, not implementation. From formal education to company training, they are trained to plan, not execute plans. My MBA program, for example, taught me a great deal about developing strategies, but little emphasis was placed on executing these strategies.

EXECUTION INVOLVES ALL LEVELS

This aforementioned lack of emphasis on execution leads to a management mindset that strategy implementation is “below them”. This view holds that managers develop the strategies and then hand the baton off to lower-level employees for execution. But this presents an array of problems including a cycle of a never-ending blame shifting.

The strategic process demands ownership throughout the entire organization. This means that “do-ers” must be involved in the formulation process and “planners” must be involved in the execution phase.

PLANNING IS THE SPRINT. EXECUTION IS THE MARATHON

Strategy making is easy, making a strategy work is much more difficult. Many managers have the misconception that implementation is a single decision. It’s not, it’s a process that requires a series of decisions over time.

There are many other roadblocks that get in the way of creating this integrated relationship between planning and execution, but I think you get the point…the road to strategic success is full of potholes.

Now that I have convinced you (hopefully) of the importance, and difficulty, of getting strategy and execution to work as one, the next step is to provide a basic and easy to understand framework for doing so.