Solutions Page - Strategy Execution
Introduction
For the past ten years, we have been teaching strategy creation, execution and management within the MBA Program at the AIM Business School, so our approach to business strategy is informed by highly credentialed authors. This sound base of theory has been further refined in our Practice with clients in different markets and countries.
Immediately below are two video introductions - one to our Strategy Practice (in general) and one more specifically to overview our proprietary "Double 8" model of strategy execution. Below these videos, there is further discussion of each aspect touched on in the videos.
Showcase Pages can be accessed via the top menu. They contain examples, case histories and illustrations, for those who have requested more "granular" material, across our four value streams.
You can also access Resources via the top menu. Here you will find our Blog, a Library of articles published by ourselves and others, and a full Bibliography. For the readers amongst you!
For the past ten years, we have been teaching strategy creation, execution and management within the MBA Program at the AIM Business School, so our approach to business strategy is informed by highly credentialed authors. This sound base of theory has been further refined in our Practice with clients in different markets and countries.
Immediately below are two video introductions - one to our Strategy Practice (in general) and one more specifically to overview our proprietary "Double 8" model of strategy execution. Below these videos, there is further discussion of each aspect touched on in the videos.
Showcase Pages can be accessed via the top menu. They contain examples, case histories and illustrations, for those who have requested more "granular" material, across our four value streams.
You can also access Resources via the top menu. Here you will find our Blog, a Library of articles published by ourselves and others, and a full Bibliography. For the readers amongst you!
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We are most often asked to help with strategy at Business Unit or Functional level, with emphasis on communication, alignment, and execution. According to Collis and Rukstad(1), mid-level managers (and even some senior executives!) are frequently unable to articulate the strategy of their organisation. Many will offer "Increase market share" or "Launch a new advertising campaign", but neither of these qualify as strategy. One is an objective (or outcome); and a poor one since it is not SMART. The other is a tactical program.
A lack of clarity leads to poor communication and patchy commitment. Ever played the "Chain of Whispers" game? In a vertical and linear flow of strategy, what emerges at the bottom may not be what was intended at the top. And of course all of this leads to execution which falls short of expectations, then possibly a "blame game".
So here are some fundamentals which underpin our Practice, starting with Michael Porter's(2) seminal paper "What is Strategy?"
What is Strategy?
First, Porter strongly states that strategy and operations are NOT synonymous; they are quite different things. Strategy is about making decisions; choices from alternatives, directions to follow, positions to attain. As Mintzberg(3) states:
“Strategy is a pattern in a stream of decisions”
So, strategy is not about action plans, timetables or KPIs. Tactics, on the other hand, are a linked schedule of "do-able" things. This is where we should find the action plans, the measurable milestones, the allocated responsibilities, and the SMART metrics.
Lafley and Martin(4) present a robust discussion of the five key questions which must be addressed by strategy:
In the Showcase pages, you will find examples of checklists we have developed for clients who wish to audit their current strategy, and how it is being communicated and executed.
Communicating Strategy
The next step is the clear and repeated communication of the strategy. Hubbard, Rice and Galvin(5) report some important research findings on the challenge of communication in organisations:
“Business leaders have only 15 words to get their message across”
Therefore, these authors advise strategists to:
You may recognise Simon Sinek's(6) "Golden Circle" in the graphic on the right, which depicts that strategy provides the guiding framework to connect organisational purpose, through strategy, to the action plans and programs (tactics) which will deliver results. Taking Sinek's exhortation to "Start With Why?" to the fullest extent, we must pose the following question:
If people do not understand the purpose of the strategy (the "why?"), how can we expect them to embrace it?
Strategy Execution
Back in 2010, writing in The Harvard Business Review, Roger Martin(7) stated:
“Drawing a line between strategy formulation and execution almost guarantees failure”
Martin's premise is that strategists can no longer blame the “choice-less doers” for poor execution of a brilliant strategy, since no strategy can be considered brilliant if it does not deliver brilliant results. Lafley and Martin talk of strategy as an "integrated cascade of choices", reflecting Mintzberg above, and the global though-leader Jeroen De Flander(8) states that strategy execution is:
"Helping people to make small choices in line with a big choice”
Harrison Consulting’s “Double 8” Model©
At Harrison Consulting, we believe that there can be no such thing as an excellent strategy poorly implemented. If it was poorly implemented, then it was a poor strategy in the first place. In order to be considered excellent, a strategy must take account of, and provide for, direction, commitment, capability, culture and resourcing.
So we developed a proprietary model to provide a conceptual framework within which we can surface and address the challenges identified above. This model is called the "Double 8" Model, and is explained in the second video at the top of the page. It facilitates a seamless integration of strategy - from synthesis through to execution:
Synthesise >> Communicate >> Align >> Execute.
A lack of clarity leads to poor communication and patchy commitment. Ever played the "Chain of Whispers" game? In a vertical and linear flow of strategy, what emerges at the bottom may not be what was intended at the top. And of course all of this leads to execution which falls short of expectations, then possibly a "blame game".
So here are some fundamentals which underpin our Practice, starting with Michael Porter's(2) seminal paper "What is Strategy?"
What is Strategy?
First, Porter strongly states that strategy and operations are NOT synonymous; they are quite different things. Strategy is about making decisions; choices from alternatives, directions to follow, positions to attain. As Mintzberg(3) states:
“Strategy is a pattern in a stream of decisions”
So, strategy is not about action plans, timetables or KPIs. Tactics, on the other hand, are a linked schedule of "do-able" things. This is where we should find the action plans, the measurable milestones, the allocated responsibilities, and the SMART metrics.
Lafley and Martin(4) present a robust discussion of the five key questions which must be addressed by strategy:
- What is our winning aspiration?
- Where will we play?
- How will we win?
- What capabilities must we have in place to win?
- What management systems are required to support our choices?
In the Showcase pages, you will find examples of checklists we have developed for clients who wish to audit their current strategy, and how it is being communicated and executed.
Communicating Strategy
The next step is the clear and repeated communication of the strategy. Hubbard, Rice and Galvin(5) report some important research findings on the challenge of communication in organisations:
“Business leaders have only 15 words to get their message across”
Therefore, these authors advise strategists to:
- establish credibility
- frame goals in a way that identifies common ground
- use vivid language
- connect emotionally
You may recognise Simon Sinek's(6) "Golden Circle" in the graphic on the right, which depicts that strategy provides the guiding framework to connect organisational purpose, through strategy, to the action plans and programs (tactics) which will deliver results. Taking Sinek's exhortation to "Start With Why?" to the fullest extent, we must pose the following question:
If people do not understand the purpose of the strategy (the "why?"), how can we expect them to embrace it?
Strategy Execution
Back in 2010, writing in The Harvard Business Review, Roger Martin(7) stated:
“Drawing a line between strategy formulation and execution almost guarantees failure”
Martin's premise is that strategists can no longer blame the “choice-less doers” for poor execution of a brilliant strategy, since no strategy can be considered brilliant if it does not deliver brilliant results. Lafley and Martin talk of strategy as an "integrated cascade of choices", reflecting Mintzberg above, and the global though-leader Jeroen De Flander(8) states that strategy execution is:
"Helping people to make small choices in line with a big choice”
Harrison Consulting’s “Double 8” Model©
At Harrison Consulting, we believe that there can be no such thing as an excellent strategy poorly implemented. If it was poorly implemented, then it was a poor strategy in the first place. In order to be considered excellent, a strategy must take account of, and provide for, direction, commitment, capability, culture and resourcing.
So we developed a proprietary model to provide a conceptual framework within which we can surface and address the challenges identified above. This model is called the "Double 8" Model, and is explained in the second video at the top of the page. It facilitates a seamless integration of strategy - from synthesis through to execution:
Synthesise >> Communicate >> Align >> Execute.
Harrison Consulting’s Value Proposition (Strategy Practice)
As you attempt to inculcate strategic plans into the culture and "DNA" of your organisation, we can add value for you in at least 10 ways (red text indicates possible benefits of our involvement). If you are looking at this web page through a "lens" of Strategy Execution, then the list below is the Value Proposition for our Strategy Practice.
We can:
As you attempt to inculcate strategic plans into the culture and "DNA" of your organisation, we can add value for you in at least 10 ways (red text indicates possible benefits of our involvement). If you are looking at this web page through a "lens" of Strategy Execution, then the list below is the Value Proposition for our Strategy Practice.
We can:
- audit areas of strategic capability to harness (using our proprietary 4S© model)
objectivity, logical and consistent framework, avoid arrogance, hubris or "Aristotelian thought", stakeholder perspective - audit areas of strategic vulnerability to strengthen or counter
objectivity, logical and consistent framework, positivity, pro-activity, realism, stakeholder perspective, strategic thought - benchmark and validate strategy against environmental and external factors (eg customer change)
currency, realism, awareness, customer intimacy, stakeholder perspective, readiness: technology, turbulence, disruption - benchmark against competition using established frames such as VRIO - Jay Barney(9) - or similar models
objectivity/honesty, logical approach, consistent/respected framework, relevance, customer/stakeholder perspective - facilitate the strategy synthesis/improvement through Board/Strategy Workshops
quality of strategy, cross-functional engagement, HC: challenge, devil's advocate, harmonise, summarise, keynotes, frame - assist in the communication of the key strategic messaging
clarity-check, alignment-engagement-ownership-accountability, decision-making, feedback, dynamic and emergent strategies - design and install customised development, targeted on strategic capability
organisational & individual capabilities, specify core competencies & skills, learning needs, KSADR analysis, training - design and install management and leadership processes and skills
build a coaching culture, awareness (self/others), empower team, learning needs analysis, KSADR analysis, training/coaching - support all of the above with customised tools and templates for team leadership and coaching
objectivity, logical and consistent framework, learning needs analysis, KSADR analysis, execute on standard - support all of the above with video, virtual and online support where feasible and necessary
cost-effectiveness, targetability, impact, consistency of message, perennial resources
FOOTNOTES
"4S": Strategy-Structure-Systems-Skills
"KSADR": Knowledge, Skill, Attitude, Direction, Resources
"VRIO": Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Operationally deliverable
"HC": Harrison Consulting acting as chair and minute recorder of Board Workshop
"Aristotelian Thinking": Well-known mistake by Aristotle in Assuming (with no empirical thought or experimentation) that men possessed more teeth than women. Quite common amongst original owner-founders of businesses!
"4S": Strategy-Structure-Systems-Skills
"KSADR": Knowledge, Skill, Attitude, Direction, Resources
"VRIO": Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Operationally deliverable
"HC": Harrison Consulting acting as chair and minute recorder of Board Workshop
"Aristotelian Thinking": Well-known mistake by Aristotle in Assuming (with no empirical thought or experimentation) that men possessed more teeth than women. Quite common amongst original owner-founders of businesses!
