Strategy Execution Not Working?

Are you still trying to cobble together a plan to actually implement your strategy this year?

It doesn’t take long for the inevitable slowdown in strategy execution to rear its ugly head. Some of the initiatives might be retreads which never got implemented … some of them might be as  compelling … some of them have worn everyone out and we wish they’d just go away.

We still get to ask this question:

If the execution of a company’s plans is an avowed priority, critical to the success of both the CEO and the business, why aren’t CEOs spending enough time on it to make it successful?

Why is it that every time the Conference Board surveys CEOs to identify their Top Ten Challenges, “consistent execution of strategy” or “excellence in execution” is invariably cited as being in the top two or three “greatest concerns”?

And, when CEOs are asked about their greatest disappointments or failures, they routinely list their company’s inability to execute?

Conundrum … Mystery … Enigma

Huh?

How is it that a subject among the top three goals of most CEOs is the very one where the CEO has the least amount of success?

Is this simply a conundrum tucked inside a mystery hidden in an enigma … or can we sort out some of this ambiguity?

“Every organization must be prepared to abandon everything it does to survive in the future.” ~Peter Drucker

What are some of the things getting in our way?

1. Creating sustainable change is damn hard

One thing we know for sure. Sustainable change, even in small doses, is very difficult to achieve.

Why is there such a universal resistance to change and what can we do to overcome it?

Why is it that we can develop a brilliant strategy to catapult us to success but simply can’t get our organization to make the changes necessary to achieve it?

What’s missing in our success formula that makes sustainable change such an elusive goal?

2. We’re flat worn out

We’ve done all the work to formulate a powerful strategy but we simply ran out of steam when we were finished.

We devoted all of our available resources and employee time to formulating the strategy, but people are tired of it all so we’ve simply stopped investing in the process.

3. We love la-la land

We proudly announce our strategy, complete with PowerPoint and FAQs on our employee web site, and figure that since everyone now knows what needs to get done, they’ll go off and do it.

Our people are smart, they’ll figure it out, and we don’t have to do it for them. La-la land is just so warm and fuzzy ….

4. Brain freeze

We’ve got so many initiatives going on, in so many places, that we’re running from pillar to post to get them done.

We’ve created tremendous heat but no light.

We’re making good time … we just don’t know exactly where we’re going and we’re so caught up in the action that we can’t sustain our focus on any one thing.

5. Planning sucks

Wandering is a lot more fun.

Planning is hard, it takes work, and then when it’s all done, there’s even more work required to make sure people do what they were assigned.

I know we spent a lot of time to craft our strategy … but do we really need to establish specific projects and milestones to accomplish our goals … and then have to go to the trouble of assigning them to specific people to get ‘em done?

Why develop a strategy you’re not going to implement?

This is the one issue that always sticks in my mind,  particularly for the companies that do spend the time to develop a well-considered strategy.

They embrace how important it is to communicate a strategy that everyone understands … screening out the activities that aren’t as important and distilling their goals and aspirations into a cohesive strategy … but they don’t invest the time to set milestones, identify the next action steps and assign the projects and tasks to specific individuals.

This is hard work, my friend.

Creating meaningful change is hard work at best and requires a sustained level of effort across the entire organization. Your organization may be suffering from a few of the maladies I’ve mentioned, but if you really want to see your ideas realized, you’ll need to overcome these roadblocks.

You’ve probably heard the old phrase, “if it doesn’t get measured, it doesn’t get done.”

People need a leader, and if nobody’s watching, things tend not to get done.

You must be absolutely committed to relentless implementation, and constantly remind everyone that execution is the only path to meaningful change and resounding success.

Plan the work … and work the plan.

You may be surprised at the lasting results you can achieve.

Question: What single tool has worked best to help you implement your Annual Plan? Please share your experience in the comments below.