Breaking Out Of The Box
Human behavior and organizational behavior have at least two major points in common. Both gravitate towards traveling in the same well-worn paths, favoring the feeling of safety that repetition brings over the feelings of anxiety and fear that often accompany change. A second point of commonality is that both humans and organizations can be steered in the wrong direction by subscribing too heavily into “groupthink” (described by psychologist Irving Janis as, “a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.”). Both behaviors can lead to flawed logic and / or incorrect underlying assumptions becoming institutionalized into our way of thinking.
Whether it is a result of groupthink or the result of resisting fresh thinking and new approaches, business strategies do suffer as a consequence of wrong-headed thinking.
How Long Should It Take To Complete A Strategic Plan?
Some time back, Method Frameworks published a tongue-in-cheek article entitled “Your Strategic Plan in Seven Days” (order now and get a free 2-minute egg timer!). The truth is, it is possible to accomplish the creation of the enterprise strategic plan in a relatively short time...provided the foundations are already in place. The keystone to remember is that the organization must have a mature and effective planning process that is already working and can serve as the plan’s foundation in order to be able to refresh both strategy and execution tactics relatively quickly while still accomplishing the creation of comprehensive and usable plan artifacts. If that foundation isn’t there, it is time to build it.
Just compiling goals and timelines into a spreadsheet that gets sent along with a meaningless report in a binder doesn’t cut it. That becomes worthless data to all involved in the organization and will not accomplish the results strategic planning should accomplish. No, the “magic binder” won’t perform miracles.
The Role of the Internal versus the External Strategist
Can an external strategist be an asset to an established corporate strategic planning team? There is clearly no substitute for the value provided by the internal strategist and the homegrown planning processes that fit the organization like an old well-worn baseball glove. But can this value be enhanced by an outsider’s involvement?
Mapping Out Strategy Execution: Part 2 of “Why We Fail at Strategy Implementation“
In the first segment of this article, we explored some common causes of plan execution failure. The issues addressed in that article are all avoidable if execution is planned and managed properly. Much of the success or failure of strategy implementation is determined during the planning process. The issues not dealt with during the planning process can be systematically handled during tactical execution. This article delves into a six step road map for strategy execution and provides techniques to mitigate problems in execution and avoid common implementation issues with our strategic plans.
Strategy Execution: Why We Fail At Strategy Implementation
Why do so many organizations fail at strategy implementation? The quality of an organization’s strategic plan is not the primary determinant of success in goal achievement. No, the primary factor is that success hinges on execution. This article is part 1 of a two part series and examines some of the most common root causes of organizations and their leaders to miss the mark on strategic implementation. In part 2 of the series we map out an approach for successful strategic execution.
The CEO Conundrum – Balancing Strategic and Tactical Responsibilities
We call it the CEO conundrum. Corporate executive officers strike a delicate balance between business visionary, big-deal closer and operations manager. The challenges now facing CEOs is certainly changing and becoming far more difficult to pull-off successfully. The New Year has ushered the global business community into a new decade full of promise and teeming with opportunity, yet still fraught with perilous economic challenges and ever increasing regulatory complexities. It is no longer enough to have a sound strategy. CEOs must shape their companies to be highly agile, run lean, and have highly empowered employees at all levels of the organization. This article defines the CEO conundrum, explores the opportunity it provides us and offers three pieces of advice that CEO’s will want to read.
