Building the bridge between strategy and execution

In my last post, I explained the difference between strategy and tactics as I still see people struggle between the two at times. I thought it useful to share how aligning a business strategy with operational capabilities is not just important, but an essential requirement. As leaders in digital transformation, it's crucial to think not only about the 'what' against our strategy, but the 'how' of our capabilities.

So why focus on business capabilities?

Capabilities act as the connection between the sometimes perceived, lofty strategic goals and the ground-level tactics required to deliver the strategy. Capabilities are the competencies and resources we must develop to execute our strategies effectively. By defining clear capabilities, we ensure that every team knows what they need to do, develop, improve, or maintain to support the overarching goals. The imperative is having teams aligned behind the capabilities so that they all work towards the same direction.

So tactics are the building blocks

As I wrote in my previous post, tactics are the actionable steps we take to develop these capabilities and they should be specific, measurable, and time-bound efforts, so that they push the strategy forwards. When you clearly link tactics to capabilities, every team member should be able to see how their daily work contributes to the larger strategic vision. If they can’t see how it fits, spend time helping them understand as its critical we are all on the same page.

Keeping the dots connected, even when more appear

As a digital transformation leader, our challenge is to continually align and re-align these pieces, monitoring? to make any new pieces fit within the plan. By having a deep understanding of these connections, we can support our teams to make the right decisions that push the business forwards.

For those that haven’t worked using a capability approach before, you should consider:

• What capabilities are critical for your team to achieve your strategic objectives?
• How can your current tactics be aligned more closely with these capabilities?

Happy to hear your thoughts and whether you find using the capability approach beneficial.

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