Strategy Execution and Execution

When I ask audience members at my seminars and speeches, “What is your biggest strategic planning problem right now?” I inevitably hear the answer, “Implementation.” Without a doubt, this is one of the biggest problems for any company trying to achieve something at a strategic level: Execution seems inevitably to fall short of our stated intentions. As one CEO said, “We say we’re going to do something and get excited about it, but a month later, it’s forgotten and we move on to the next thing.” Perhaps this is true even when trying to implement non-strategic objectives, but it is much worse with strategic ones. Why? Because nothing is more postponable than a strategic objective, until it’s too late to think strategically. In addition, strategic goals are much more likely to bring about powerful change in your organization, and therefore encounter much greater resistance than more operations-oriented goals.

You can improve your effectiveness in strategy implementation by the things you choose to do in your strategic planning process. There are three key areas where you can do this:

1. Implementation planning,

2. Resource allocation and

3. Implementation Monitoring.

The approach we take to these three areas is quite different from the norm in strategic planning and produces superior results. According to Robert Half Associates, most companies achieve about 30% of the goals they set in a process like strategic planning. With Strategic Planning Made Easy, you should be able to achieve an average closer to 80%. It’s the unusual way we handle the three key implementation management steps that makes all the difference.

First, in implementation planning, it is important to get the objectives right. This means using the SMART approach: the goal must be specific, measurable, achievable and the results must be set in a timely manner. Also, you need to make sure that you set a reasonable number of goals. We find that many companies improve the effectiveness of their execution simply by limiting the goals they set in strategic planning. Second, you need to write a good clear action plan that is helpful in directing and tracking the implementation of your goals. The approach illustrated in the Strategic Planning Made Simple seminar and book is a strong way to ensure this.

In resource allocation, we find that most organizations already pay close attention to the money required for effective implementation. This is the first resource you should check out. Money is important, but it is generally less important in strategy implementation than time. Ironically, few companies spend half as much attention on time as they do on money.

Finally, monitoring the implementation of the strategy is vital, even if it is sometimes difficult. This implies two important things. First, you need to write your action plans so that they are trackable, which means that the steps need to be stated as clear, finite actions that are clearly completed at some point, and also that each step needs a clearly stated start and end date.

Make sure your team follows the recommendations in these three areas and you’ll find that your execution will improve dramatically.

Copyright 2007 by Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan – Reprint permission granted with full attribution.