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.

10 Operational Planning Steps That 85% of Corporations Wish They Knew

Considering that 85% of corporate strategic plans fail to deliver on their intended results (according to KPMG), it’s no wonder that operational planning has come to the forefront of the minds of CEOs across the globe. Data suggests that most organizations would certainly benefit from adopting a more formalized approach to strategic planning and that many companies have routinely failed to successfully and fully implement their strategic goals due to poor operational planning. What can be done to correct the problem?

The Golden Thread: Linking Strategy to Execution

Recently during a conversation with an executive I heard a term used to describe strategy execution that I’d never heard before, but it made an impression on me.  He was discussing a challenge he faced within his own environment - the challenge of strategy execution.  His statement was, “We need the golden thread that links our strategy to execution initiatives.”

I liked the image this conjured up in my mind.  What he was describing was the middle layer of planning, referred to as “operational planning”.  Operational planning is the “golden thread” linking strategy to execution and is way too undervalued in my opinion.  Because operational planning all to often is not done well, or is overlooked altogether - this article describes ways to inject operational planning into the strategic planning process and string the “golden thread” through all of the execution loop-holes.

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.