What’s Our Strategy Again?

Is your strategic execution process broken?
 
Have you ever witnessed a well-crafted and well-intended strategy really work – from top to bottom, from inception to execution?
 
With organizational resources stretched to the limit, time in short supply and focused attention a near impossibility, many of our best strategic initiatives get lost in the middle between executive inspiration and frontline perspiration.
 
Too often, spot-on-perfect-for-this-organization strategic ideas are met with fanfare, embraced by executives and rewarded by the street; only to get bogged down, lose steam and become irrelevant words to those tasked with bringing the strategy to life.
 
What looks great on paper, adds up in a spreadsheet and sounds logical when the boss talks about it, may have little chance at success without the tools necessary to transform strategic ideas into bottom line organizational performance.
 
While many great business minds have tried to create a globally applicable method of strategic execution, our general understanding of the topic is fragmented, sometimes contradictory and overly complex.
 
After years of combing the research, analyzing what’s worked and what’s missed the mark and talking to executives, middle managers and individual contributors in dozens of industries across the globe, a pattern has started to emerge.
 
Strategic execution, the DOING of strategic performance, depends largely on an organization’s ability to recognize and address three issues:

1. Past performance is no guarantee of future success. Strategic execution requires different ways of thinking and acting.
2. Together is better. Maximizing performance depends largely on an organization’s ability to clearly define how each person can contribute to organizational success.
3. Human connection drives the bottom line. Strategic success is as much about the people we need to engage with as it is about what needs to be accomplished.

What’s your experience with strategic execution?
 
Do you know anyone that’s breaking the mold to lead organizational performance in a new way?
 
What are some of your biggest challenges with the way strategic initiatives are handled in your organization?
 
Don’t hesitate to reach out directly and share your thoughts as we start to crack the code on strategic execution…