How To Bounce Back from Strategy Failure

Most of the companies encounter strategy failure. Whether they want to admit it or not, it is a Fact. Despite they invest huge time, effort and resources, into crafting strategy that promise business growth, massive results, innovative products and success. Yet, the reality is persisting that many of these strategies crumble or fall short of expectations. Due to lack of a clear vision, goals are missed, ineffective strategic decisions are made and misaligned performance that is far low relative to competitors. Sometimes, it is because of mistakes that they made, and other times, it is due to circumstances outside of company control. The strategy failure is not instantaneous but rather occurs as a downward spiral or over time through different stages. The difference between strategy success and failure often boils down to three magic words: alignment, engagement, and commitment.

The high strategy failure rate can come at a significant price, but what are the implications to the company and leadership team of failure to execute. It could mean the demise of the business if a competitor executes a critical business driven strategy more effectively.

However, failure can teach us more than success, where the most important lessons are learned. There are many accounts of implementation failure, and many prescriptions to remedy such situations.? But how many might be seen not as a failure, but more as a setback and an opportunity to learn, how the learning from this failure contribute to a longer-term strategy that has been successful, in so doing the notion of ‘failure’ is challenged, so we can find the drive again within the company to get back up, to persevere, to keep going.

Sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking that the goals are our strategy. The goals are what company want to achieve, while strategy is how they are going to achieve it by making right choices and conquering the challenges and growing business to win against the competition. Thus, if strategy does not work, change the plan, not the goal. Certainly, not seeing a strategy deliver its intended impact can be extremely frustrating for strategic leaders trying to drive superior performance. Perhaps, leaders can immerse on details analysis in how to identify potential problems, and how to take mitigating or corrective action that can make the difference between a strategy that falls short and one that leads to success. So, when faced with a failed strategy, the first step is to analyze what went wrong, evaluate the effectiveness of the overall execution, identify the areas that underperformed and assess the reasons behind them. By pinpointing the lessons learned, we gain valuable insights into strategy shortcomings, allowing us to adapt and refine our approach.

But what if we could change our mindset around failure? What if, instead of seeing it as the enemy, we could view failure as a teacher, catalyst for growth and a clear the way for the next challenge.

How you can bounce back from strategy failure and come back stronger than ever. It starts by acknowledging the failure and accepting the reality of the situation rather than ignoring it. Recognize the factors that led to the failure, was it a matter of execution, or was the strategy flawed from the start, were there signals that were overlooked. Fostering credibility, open dialogue and share the missteps, when leaders taking responsibility of failure, it instills a sense of trust that will be crucial in rallying company for future initiatives, but more importantly, emphasize what has been learned and what is next. Adopting a resilient mindset by learning from the experience, rather than letting it define the potential for future success.

At the end, the organizations need to create clear, detailed objectives that are within reach, develop an actionable and resilience strategy that to make them ready for any unexpected changes for a focused path to recovery, with the ability to adjust strategies as needed. Remember, failing at something can sting, but it also presents an opportunity for growth, being able to get back up afterward can boost the confidence in the long run because you have proved that you can “survive” this!