Many organisations have been unable to turn their strategies into action mostly because they start with the wrong strategy or they get caught up in a model that no longer works. Compelling visions that cannot be seen or believed by others remain only in the mind. This is why organisations must understand how to bring a strategy to life. While it may sound like a really difficult thing to do, there are five simple ways that businesses can do that:
Collagis is committed to helping businesses like yours to optimise workforce and organisational effectiveness. We'd love to hear from you to share how we can help you build clear and effective strategies for your business and enable effective execution. Contact us today at info@collagis.com.au The failure to effectively execute a strategy is not uncommon in organisations. But businesses sometimes miss that their failure to execute is because there isn't a strategy worth executing.
Reports are written, town halls held and budgets are set aside, but after all these steps are followed, still nothing happens. The major reason why failure occurs and there is no action on the “new strategies” is that these strategies are often not strategies at all. Is your strategy real? The big question is therefore what a real strategy refers to. A real strategy is one that involves a set of clear choices that define what the organisation is going to do and what it is not going to do. Understand that a real strategy is one with clear choices. Therefore, if a strategy does not represent a set of clear choices, it will fail to be implemented even with ample efforts of hard-working people. Goals vs. strategy In so many instances, people mistake strategies for goals. A statement that only covers what you hope your outcome will be but not what you are going to do to get there, is a goal and not a strategy. You still need a strategy to accomplish those goals. So if you only have ‘hopes’ and no actionable plans, then you have a ‘false’ strategy and you are bound to fail in your execution process. Priorities vs. strategy Sometimes, it is not just goals that are confused for strategies. Some organisations have a set of priorities and choices which they pass for a strategy without forming a coherent direction when considered in conjunction. For example, the priorities of your business may be to increase the operational efficiency of your business, target markets outside your country and divest in a certain business. While these are excellent priorities, they cannot be combined to form a strategy. When you have your priorities, a strategy presents a clear set of choices which fit together to form a direction for the business. If there is no clear strategic direction, any execution process is doomed for failure. Ask yourselves these questions to determine whether your strategy is real?
If your strategy is not real, then you need to work on making it real. If it is real, your halfway there, and tackling execution challenges is your next focus. What other tips do you have for determining if you strategy is real? Collagis is committed to helping businesses like yours to optimise workforce and organisational effectiveness. We'd love to hear from you to share how we can help you build clear and effective strategies for your business. Contact us today at info@collagis.com.au People get excited about having a strategy, but how many organisations stick to the plan and enable the team to effectively execute? Having a strategy is important, but it is even more critical to create the right conditions for execution and to stay the distance in order to realise the intended outcomes.
So how do you ensure that you stick to a strategic plan? 1. Designate a champion - A champion is a leader who can engage others and break down big projects into small steps. Your strategy should have a designated champion who will push the rest of the team towards implementing it. This champion does not have to be a senior manager or a person in senior leadership. You should also not designate yourself as the champion of your strategy. Find someone who is charismatic and great with interpersonal skills who can get others to engage with the plan. 2. Define responsibilities - When you have your strategic plan all written down, you must delegate responsibilities to make sure that everyone in your team and organisation understands his or her own components. Such clarity on responsibilities will allow the designated champion and other leaders to execute the plan without unexpected roadblocks and unnecessary slowdowns. Every person in your organisation should know what their role is in executing a strategic plan. As such, you will have check and balances that evaluate how well people have taken up their responsibilities and bring to account those that have veered away or are slowing down the implementation process. 3. Constantly clarify priorities - In the midst of implementing a strategic plan, it is easy to lose sight of the priorities. Your team could be focused on so much that they need constant reminders that your strategic plan takes priority. There are two ways to communicate the importance of your plan. One is by what you say and two is by what you measure. If you don’t communicate the importance of the plan in one week, then it is no longer a priority for them. In addition, if you are not evaluating your metrics according to your strategic plan, people will lose sight of it. People will usually spend time and effort in something they know they will be evaluated on. 4. Give time to see results - It takes time for a strategic plan to yield results. When you evaluate your plans too soon, you will likely get discouraged and start assuming that you have veered from the plan. Don’t expect final results from an incomplete process. Your strategy needs time to bear fruit before you start changing the direction or actions to achieve it. 5. Clarify how/if the plan changes - Along the way, you may have to incorporate some changes into the plan. You might find a better way of going about something listed in your strategic plan. When you decide to make a change to the plan, ensure that you get everyone on board. Otherwise, people will lose track of the plan and fail to stick to it. Collagis is committed to helping businesses like yours to optimise workforce and organisational effectiveness. We'd love to hear from you to share how we can help you build clear and effective strategies for your business. Contact us today at info@collagis.com.au |