Turning Strategy Into Results Dr. Bill Casey Wendi Peck Executive Leadership Group, Inc.
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Transcript of Turning Strategy Into Results Dr. Bill Casey Wendi Peck Executive Leadership Group, Inc.
Turning Strategy Into Results
Dr. Bill CaseyWendi Peck
ExecutiveLeadershipGroup, Inc.
Danny GilbertSelf-made billionaire
“We have a saying in our companies that ‘innovation is rewarded, but execution is
worshipped.’ A great idea is just the first step. The real talent is bringing that idea to life with
great execution.”
Admiral Mike MullenCNO
“It is time to execute.”
THINK ofa strategy
Executethe
strategy
A Think-Do Chasm Exists
Fortunately, you don’t have to re-invent
anything; there is a time-tested approach Private & Military
entities who have benefited from this approach:
SybaseMolson-CoorsSPL WorldgroupSeagateCiticorpQwestGreat West Life
US Coast GuardUS Navy:•SUBFOR•Navy Medicine•NETWARCOM•Deep Blue•SPAWAR
Adopt this 3-part formula to cut through the Fog of Turning Strategy
into Results
. . . and give leaders a
way to steer their
organizations
Course Objectives: You’ll be able to
1. Translate strategy into measurable effects/results
2. Express effects-sans-side effects as Whole Goals
3. Create an effects-based strategy with Force Field Analysis
4. Use Whole Goals to execute strategy, using them as a a basis for:
• Focus• Alignment• Accountability
In short, you should leave with the basic know-how to develop and execute astrategy that is scalable to almost any size organization or initiative.
Principles and MethodsWe’ll explore this formula for success in two
ways:1. Principles (for thinking)2. Methods (for doing)
However, there will be about 60 – 90 minutes of
ground school before weget to take flight.
Use three elements to turn strategy into results
Let’s start with some important principles on creating FOCUS. . .
Effect
A results-focus helps us avoid the activity trap
"Great leaders never tell people how to do their jobs.
Great leaders tell people what to do and establish a framework within which it must be done.
Then they let people on the front lines, who know best, figure out how to get it done."~ General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
A results-focus promotes innovation
What’s really,
really the point?
FIRST ask:
ONLY THEN ask:
How will I know when I
succeed?
What happens if you ask the
second(metrics) question FIRST?
When you lead an initiative or execute a strategy, it’s good to know what “good”
looks like . . .
GOOD
FASTCHEAP
Those first twoquestions help
you figure this out
“Good” comes in 4 flavors
Successful Efforts
Successful Results
DisputableSuccess
IndisputableSuccess
We’ll focus on indisputable resultsSuccessful Results
IndisputableSuccess
Our focus
Because the “indisputable
result” is a smart way to write
effects
And I ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE
it will make YOU strategically smarter
“Indisputable” means we can ALL agree on
whether or not success has occurred, which is why we
measure.
“Who are you gonna believe:
me, or your own eyes?”
How will we know we’ve achieved objectives such as
“Win the War on terrorism”or, “Achieve transformation”?
If There’s Room For Interpretation . . .
Execution will:• Take longer than it should,• Cost more than it should, and• Produce unpredictable, and often undesired results
Oh, and frustrate a lot of people in the process!
I THINK I know what they mean.
Sort of.
Are These Indisputable?
1. Defeat violent extremism as a threat to our way of life as a free and open society,
2. Create a global environment inhospitable to violent extremists and all who support them
From the National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism
Decrease Lost Underway Days by at least 25%.
Metric
Target
Communicating Indisputable Results Means combining the Metric and the
Target
It is easier to focus on indisputable results when they are stated simply
In our personal lives, we would never think this way:
“Dollars/year”“Make a good living”
Outcome: Metric: Target:
“100,000”
Instead, we’d simply say:
“Make a $100,000 per year.”
Imagine that you’re betting on
your own success.
Twenty bucks says you’ll fail.
You already know how to answer the question: How will
we know?
Summary: Key Principles
• Focus on Results (aka Effects) – Not Activities• First ask: What’s The Point?• Then ask: How will I know I’ve succeeded?• The answer to the second question must be
answered in indisputable language to avoid misinterpretation
• Indisputable results must include both the metric and the target to be achieved
• Indisputable results must be defined UP FRONT• Indisputable results are the foundation for
achieving the focus, alignment and accountability required for successful execution
Now Let’s Explore One Method
For Applying These Principles
Whole Goals are an exquisite method for depicting indisputable
results.
Whole Goals are the “hub” of this success formula
Whole Goals are exceptionally robust because of their two
parts
½
½
The first half
states the
result you want
Here’s what I want to achieve. ½
“Result”
And, here’s what I really don’t want
along the way.
½
The second
half bans the
side-effects
you don’t want
“Restrictions”
Prescribe results; proscribe side-effects
½
Here’s the indisputable
result I want . . . ½
Result
Restrictions
. . . but without these side-
effects!
Bind thesecommitmentstogether into
a single, Whole Goal
Some indisputable results• Increase the skill fit between all billets and all
employees (civilian and military) to at least 90%.
• Ensure that at least 60% of the fleet is C1 or C2.
• Decrease customer wait time by 40% for high priority (c3/c4) CASREP parts.
• 100% theater ASW Commanders agree or strongly agree that, “The IUSS community provides information that is accurate, actionable, and timely.” [quarterly, 5-second survey]
• Increase the breadth and depth of commanders’ use of IO as reflected in incorporation of IO in deliberate & crisis action planning, exercises, and current operations as indicated by achieving > X on our IO maturity model.[“maturity model,” “behaviorally anchored rating scale,” some “measures of effectiveness”]
What’s the right strategic level?
• Increase company share price by > X%• Increase the company’s profit > X%• Increase the company’s revenue > X%• Increase sales of VAD by > X%• Increase add-on sales of VAD by > X%• > 90% service reps can answer at least 19
out of 20 questions on VAD• > 90% of service reps sent to VAD sales
training
Conquer the Dark Side2nd Half of aWhole Goal:
Q: How do we achieve The Point, while protecting what’s precious?
A: We use restrictions.
Restrictions state the co-LATERAL damage you won’t allow
RestrictionsStay within them
Indisputable Result
Cross the finish line, then (typically)
keep going The Finish Line
Result + Restrictions = Whole Goal
Non-violence wasn’t his dream. It was the restriction he placed on achieving his dream.
Use restrictions to protect what’s precious while pursuing your goals
Restrictions can help promote collaborative behaviors
Or . . . at least they can muzzle
a lot of uncollaborative
behaviors
The difference between resultsand restrictions
“Drive Warfighter Medical Readiness”Owner: VADM Arthur, Navy Surgeon General
Indisputable Result
Restrictions
At least 90% of all Sailors & Marines are Operationally Medically Ready.
At least 75% of all Sailors and Marines are Class 1
Here’s a before & after example(From the Navy’s Network Warfare
Command)Workforce exampleStarting point: “Develop a cadre of cyber-warriors.”
Indisputable resultSustain, retain, attract, and develop a qualified/certified, diverse workforce to meet mission requirements as measured by ratings from recipient organizations, achieving ratings of “meet requirements” or “exceed requirements” for personnel within the information domain.
Restrictions• Cannot receive ratings of “fails to meet requirements” from any customer.• Ensure billets are coded/characterized correctly to meet actual requirements.
Ending point:
Restrictions help manage some risks
You will have risks of collateral damage and risks of failure.
Restrictions help you manage the first kind.
Restrictions vs. Constraints: Same thing?
Restrictions Constraints
Use these criteria for restrictions
Measurable and verifiable (yeah, you’ve got to track restrictions, too)
Not objectives-in-disguise
Keep your list of restrictions short
Simple
Whole Goals add a beautiful simplicity
to clarifying and communicating direction
because they combine the ideas of desired effects, objectives,
measures of effectiveness, and collateral damage.
Summary: Effective GoalsThe mechanism for applying the success principles
• Goals should reflect the appropriate strategic level for the role trying to achieve them
• Indisputable Results (expressed as measurable goals) are the centerpiece for achieving successful strategy or initiative execution
• Goals should prescribe indisputable results while proscribing collateral damage.
• We like Whole Goals because they:– Articulate indisputable results/effects– Include critical restrictions that help prevent
unintended negative consequences– Simplify communication and create greater focus
by integrating desired effects, objectives, and MOE’s into one place
Exercise:Make It a Whole Goal
AlignmentUse Whole Goalsto help achieve
So What Are We Trying to Align Anyway?
Personality types?
Philosophies?Intentions?Motivation?The stars?
What We MUST Align:• Strategies to ultimate desired
effects/results• Individual performance to these strategies• Interdependent roles to each other• Performance consequences (such as pay)
to the achievement of desired results (more to come on accountability later)
Good News: Whole Goals will help you with all of these
Strategy is your theory about how to step from the present to a specific, desired future
Start by aligning strategy to results
Strategies Must Be Clear, Too
Unfortunately, most strategies get expressed as “fuzzy” concepts that can also be interpreted in many ways.
“We will lead with innovation!”
“We will adopt a fast-follower strategy.”
“We will shed non-essential activities and stick to our knitting.”
Solution: State strategies as subordinate, indisputable results that prove you have successfully implemented your strategy
Reduce by at least80% the cycle time
for response torequests for ADJET briefs
Reduce flag officerchops to no more
than 1
Standardize allinputs
on XML
Reach agreementwith customers to consolidate ADJET
& ADTIR briefs
“We need to reduce flag involvement, and do better at standardizing and consolidating.”
Goals to the rescue!
Use Whole GoalsTo clearly express
strategy as Results in cause and effect fashion
This is a Results MapIt’s like “strategy mapping” on
steroids
purp
ose,
vis
ion,
val
ues
WB
S,
task
s, t
ime
fra
mes
, re
sour
ces,
etc
. (a
ctio
ns)
This provides a common definition of success, and of successful contribution
The people down here have a deep understanding of the
strategy – and where they fit in!
Single, over-arching “metric”
Notice that strategic thinking occurs at every level of the
organization
purp
ose,
vis
ion,
val
ues
There are many ways to pry loose good theories
(strategies)SWOT Analysis
Listen to your people
Force Field Analysis
Talk with your customers
Be brilliant and insightful
Shamelessly steal ideas
Benchmarking
Just brainstorm with smart people
Gap Analysis
Force Field Analysis
Force Field Analysis is Brilliantly Basic
Kurt Lewin
The schtuck point
Ve get schtuck betveen equal,
opposing forces.
Force Field Analysis
Disequilibrium yields movement
My C
urrent Weight
My D
esired Weight
Enablers Barriers
Goal:20# Less
FFA Pumped UP
1. First, decide on categories of enablers & barriers– E.g., suppliers, customers,
funding, internal resistance2. Then do a FFA for each
category.
Do this to net more than twice as many useable ideas as ordinary FFA:
Examples of categories:People, Money, Communications, IT/IM, Diversity, Change Management, Risks, Stakeholder Interests
Here are some FFA tips
Barriers & Enablers are not:• Pro’s & con’s• Absence of a pre-conceived solution• Fuzzy abstractions
If you don’t know whether something is an enableror a barrier (e.g., budget), don’t worry. Just put it somewhere.
Part One:Do a force field analysis on your Whole
GoalYou will receive instructions for Part Two in approximately 30 minutes.
Two-Part Exercise
Pull forth strategies from FFA(The second part of your
exercise)1. Identify where you are now
& where you want to be.2. Brainstorm the forces
– Enablers & Barriers (AKA Drivers & Constraints)
– Weight them (1 – 5)
3. Circle what you can change or influence
4. For the items you circled, decide the implications for strategy:
– Generate COAs that would . . .. . . strengthen or add enablers. . . weaken or eliminate barriers
Sta
tus Q
uo
De
sired
Re
sult
Enablers Barriers
Your strategy(ies) must address the risk of failure
You will have risks of collateral damage and risks of failure.
Your judgment of what’s “necessary & sufficient” are how you manage the second kind.
Bonus: good judgment here drives efficiency, too.
Tight alignment asks the “necessary & sufficient”
questions
Is each of these really necessary
to cause the result?
Tier 1 Result Tier 2 Results
Taken together, are they sufficient to cause
the result?
Traditional “alignment” asks a less rigorous question
“Can I claim that what I am doing somehow contributes to the boss’
goals?”
I’m sure aligned!
Me too!
Tight alignment enables strategic “goal alignment”
Versus Potluck Alignment
Hey, everybody, bring something to the party that
supports my goals!
Okay, folks, to accomplish our top goal,there are exactly four results
we’ll have to achieve.
Question: which do we mean by “common metrics”?
In OtherWords . . .
Tight alignmentrequires that you
cascade goals one tier
at a time
This is also how you ARTICULATE and TRANSLATE strategy at every level
The organization’s strategy drive subordinate strategies
Enablers support your effects
Initiatives
Organizational Design
Strategy for Our People
Lean Six SigmaI.T. Strategy
Policies
Summary: The Alignment Logic
• If desired effects and strategies are expressed as measurable Whole Goals,
• If these goals represent the necessary and sufficient achievements for success, and
• If these goals will effectively be used to drive individual performance (yes, we’re about to discuss accountability) . . .
• Then:The very FIRST thing we need to align
is: GOALS
Decrease customerwait time for highfailure parts > 40%
-No increase in shipping costs-No increase in personnel-No increase in stock on ships
Vendor agreements will reflectprovision of high priority partswithin 24 hours
-No increase in parts cost
Redesign of high failure/highcost parts will achieve > 50%MTBF
-Investment breakeven in no more than 36 months.
Reduce internal sourcingprocess > 20%
-No more than 5% increase incustomer wait time for non-priority parts.
Decrease logistics pipelinefor overseas forces > 30%
-No impact on CONUSlogistics pipeline
Can you begin to imagine a results map that articulates
subordinate Whole Goals that reflect your strategies and align to your top-level
Whole Goal?
AccountabilityUse Whole Goalsto help achieve
Again, let’s start with somekey principles . . . . . .
Bottom Line:People must be held accountable for producing the results (Whole Goals) to which they committed
Accountability is not about
bullying people
(This is not the sense in which we are using the
word “execution”)
However,
The Three C’s of Accountability
Commitment
from the direct report
Consequences for performance
Clear GoalAssignment
from the manager
Mostly positive work best
Some leaders use Whole Goals & FitReps
Accountability is for individuals(not groups)
Each Whole Goal belongs to an actual, real person.This means each person has an excruciatingly clear role.
Whole Goals stay with the position, even when the person has moved
on.
This promotes the role clarity that results in
Predictable organizational performance
despite personnel churn.
Accountabilities stay with the role
With Whole Goals, it doesn’t matter who’s in the picture
Summary: Accountability Concepts
• Accountability only exists if there is (1) a clear assignment (2) commitment (3) consequences (preferably positive) for performance.
• Accountabilities are best expressed as Whole Goals that are tightly aligned vertically and horizontally
• Whole Goals stay with the role in order to drive predictable organizational performance over time (despite frequent churn)
• Authorities of the role must be commensurate with the accountabilities (Whole Goals) of the role
Bringing it All Together
Let’s look at a process that applies the principles we’ve
discussed and turns strategies into results
Strategic Planning & Execution
Current-State Assessment
Validate Vision and Mission
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
strategy strategy strategy
Establish Tier 1 Whole Goals
Drive your strategies deeper with lower tier Whole Goals that:
• Articulate and operationalize strategy
• Align vertically and horizontally
• Enable accountability for strategy execution
Assess Landscape
Validate Vision, Purpose
Identify strategies for closing the gap between current state and desired ultimate success
Employ an ongoing governance process
to ensure accountability for goal achievement
A Few Tips For Making TheProcess Work . . .
First, you gotta talk with people
Baseline (assess) your current performance. Figure out what you need, what customers need, what you can or
can’t count on from suppliers, how you fit into your boss’ success, and the point of your command, organization or
initiative.
Then, float your draft Whole Goals with your leadership team
Hey, team, whatdya think of my great, new Whole Goals?
Uh, boss. I do have an idea or two.
So, THAT’s what he’s
been trying to tell us!
Don’t forget to . . .
Validate and align your Whole Goals with interdependent
organizations (i.e. customers, suppliers)
Cascade Whole Goals one tier
at a time
This is how you ARTICULATE and TRANSLATE strategy
Then:
Resolve WHO is on the hook for each goal
It makes perfect sense thatmy role “owns” this goal!
Make sure the role assigned toachieve the goal has the appropriate authorities
Boss Subord 1 Subord 2 Subord 3
Et Cetera. Look for:
• Gaps• Overlaps• Conflicts• Danglers
Use team discussions to achieve goal alignment and give the boss better
strategic control
Much is UN-delegatable
• Sponsorship of the process cannot be delegated, but day-to-day management of it can
• Strategic thinking cannot be delegated, but data-gathering can
• Expressing strategy as a measurable result cannot be delegated, but building tracking mechanisms and using them can
Do not confuse these roles They are really quite different
Make the gauge Move the gaugeRead the gauge
Our discussion has been focused on accountability for MOVING
the gauge
Once a boss and team have their Whole Goals, it’s time for
governance
• Keep people focused and motivated
• Ensure agility (Keep the plan updated and relevant)
• Promote risk identification and collaborative solutions
Regular Whole Goal reviews
The governance
process is your organization’s
adaptive conscience
(Just kidding about the ruler. Effective governance is rarely punitive.)
and it mustnever, never
shut up
Adjust your governance cycle to the speed of your organization
Use these 3 elements
for strategic control
In Summary Apply the principles and
methods we’ve
discussed and drive
your organizations and projects
to the desired
destination
Supplemental MaterialPretty Good
Educate• Whole Goals, Strategy Dev. & Execution
4 Align Externally• Discuss & confirm Whole Goals
with external organizations• Include customers & suppliers
• For the senior leader of the organization• These are baseline (revisable) Whole Goals
5 Accountability to Sustain Alignment & Focus Every 30 – 45 days:
Phase I: Senior Team Alignment
• Review Whole Goals to sustain alignment• Modify Whole Goals only as new information
becomes available – and strategy needs to change
• Again, review sequence is based onleader’s Whole Goals, not based on routinedepartment head readouts
Tiers 1 & 2: Senior Leader & Direct Reports
Direct & Involve• Explain leader’s (i.e. the org’s) Whole Goals• Solicit feedback & questions
2 Alignment Session #1(for sr. leader and direct reports)
Challenge• Homework: “Develop your own Whole Goals.”
1 Develop Senior Leader Whole Goals
3 Alignment Session #2(for senior leader and direct reports)• Each direct report “proposes” his/her Whole Goals to the group• Discussion & debate encouraged• Presentation sequence based on leader’s Whole Goals• Results: Vertical alignment of Whole Goals to Tier 1
Horizontal alignment to each other
Alignment Process
Build linkages between performance on Whole Goals (achievement ofdesired results) and meaningful performance consequences
Develop/Refine Strategies to • Achieve Whole Goals
1 Tier 3 Education
4 Cascade Whole Goals (optional)
• Align Tier 4, 5 etc.• Sustain alignment & focus
2 Tier 3 Alignment• Alignment session for each Tier 2 manager and team• Inter-team gallery walks to ensure horizontal alignment
Phase II: Aligning Tier 3 & Below
Alignment Process
• Strategy articulation: Whole Goals & alignment• Execution: accountability & authority
3 Accountability to Sustain Alignment & Focus Every 30 – 45 days review Whole Goals to sustain alignment (procedures as described previously for Tier 2 Whole Goal Reviews)
CONOPS: Strategy creation & deployment for the effects-based
enterprise
These are tough questionsasked and answered
recursively down the organization
What’s thepoint?
Why do we exist?What are we trying to be in the world that’s going to be?
How will wemeasureresults?
The results that reallymatter (desired results) are sometimes the most difficult to measure.
How will we achieve accountability?
• How will we regularly review and consequate results achievement?
•What results are necessary & sufficient?•What unintended consequences must we explicitly proscribe?
What results/resultswill achieve the
point?
Who’s onthe hook?
•For each result, what INDIVIDUAL will be held accountable?•Does that INDIVIDUAL have the resources, information and authority to really deliver on the commitment?
And then . . .What results
will achieve thoseresults?
“Metrics” Comments worth sharing
(1) Are you measuring because you have threshold/objective MOEs...or is the measuring just to find out what you are doing over time?
(2) What assumptions were the basis for each metric as a useful MOE? In other words, do you know how meaningful the measure is?
(3) Do management meetings address how the leadership enables or constrains efforts to achieve the useful MOEs? In other words, is there a feedback loop making senior management responsive to lower tiers (that actually do...or don't do...the work)?
(4) If the metrics are going in a good direction, what do you do? Reward? Cut efforts as they exceed threshold or as payoff on the way to objective does not balance against other needs? In short, how does management react to its own metrics? Same is true for metrics headed south. It is interesting to see that, when an MOE heads south, and an enterprise actually set conditions for that to happen, senior leaders often blithely just change and lower the output metric. We also are very good at not changing goals and MOEs, even if the leadership cannot enable them, they then become enterprise cultural totems, not real performance metrics..
“My experience with metrics leads to a couple of questions for the enterprise leaders who choose them:”
Informal communication from
Gen. Robert MagnusAssistant Commandant of the Marine Corps2 APR 2006
Example of a results mapDecrease customerwait time for highfailure parts > 40%
-No increase in shipping costs-No increase in personnel-No increase in stock on ships
Vendor agreements will reflectprovision of high priority partswithin 24 hours
-No increase in parts cost
Redesign of high failure/highcost parts will achieve > 50%MTBF
-Investment breakeven in no more than 36 months.
Reduce internal sourcingprocess > 20%
-No more than 5% increase incustomer wait time for non-priority parts.
Decrease logistics pipelinefor overseas forces > 30%
-No impact on CONUSlogistics pipeline
(cont)
Example continued
Decrease logistics pipelinefor overseas forces > 30%
-No impact to CONUSlogistics pipeline
Decrease handoffs > 50%
-No use of uncertified agents
Decrease transit time > 20%
-No more than 10% increase incosts-No increase in lost shipments
Decrease time at customs > 25%
-No additional personnel-No newsworthy incidents
A simple maturity model(A concept that is sometimes useful in measuring complex
things)