Turning valuable strategy into effective implementation

MAY 6, 2015

An interesting piece from the Harvard Business Review, March 2015, closely reflects our approach on how to best deliver strategies through

tangible action

Why strategy execution unravels & what to do about it‘Studies show that two-thirds to three-quarters of large organisations struggle to implement their strategies.

There are thousands of guides on how to develop a strategy, but very few on how to actually execute one.

This new research uncovers the insight that most executives attribute poor execution to a lack of alignment and weak performance culture. It turns out that the real issue is fostering coordination across units and building the agility to accept and adapt to changing market conditions’.

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, MARCH 2015

Of the 5 Myths debunked by the authors, Myth 3 -

‘Communication equals understanding’

resonates with our experience.

A case quoted in the HBR article refers to a

ceaseless delivery of the strategy by executives, and an 84% rating on, “I am clear on our organisation’s top priorities” in an engagement survey, less than one third of the management team

55% of middle managers could do so). Not only are strategic priorities poorly understood, they often seem unrelated to each other and disconnected from the overall strategy.

Half of the C-suite cannot connect the dots between strategic priorities. The further down the management structure, the worse it becomes.

Yet companies continue to invest huge amounts of time and effort communicating strategy in an unending stream of e-mails, management meetings and town hall meetings.

Many executives believe relentless commuNication of strategy is key to success

Part of the problem this research reveals is that executives measure communication in terms of inputs rather than by the only metric that really counts – how well key leaders understand what’s communicated.

A related issue occurs when core messages are diluted with peripheral considerations; in one case, 11 corporate priorities, a list of core competencies (including one with nine templates) and a list of 21 new strategic terms had to be

–getting your priorities clear, letting your people know what they are, and why.

How can so much communication yield so little understanding?

Stop the tidal wave of communications.

Created content that’s as relevant, interesting and clear as the external messages we all consume. Make sure it’s accessible on digital and mobile platforms, and keep it fresh. Trust your internal audiences; if it’s interesting and relevant they will select-in, like, save and share….And you need ‘killer’ analytics that will tell you what content matters, to whom and why.

What’s the solution to this problem?

CONTACT

paul@thisisprotocol.comadrienne@thisisprotocol.com

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