SUB-ISSUES:
- Aligned goals/measures
- Business and Financial Acumen
- Measurable Accountabilities
- Linked Rewards
- Ownership thinking (Clear Commitment)
Many more organizations fail from poor strategy execution than from a poor strategy. Doubters should check Fortune Magazine's list of ex-CEOs who failed the execution challenge. What's so hard about strategy execution? And, what's required for success?
Exceptional strategy design can be achieved by a small group of executives while superior execution requires engaging the hearts and minds of the entire organization. Superior execution demands that business units, functions, teams, and individuals understand the strategy and work together. The key elements that form the basis for superior strategy execution are displayed in the accompanying model below.
Superior strategy implementation requires all the pieces:Which ones are you missing?
What makes strategy execution especially difficult is that success can hinge on a single element in the model, such as poor business acumen or unmeasured accountabilities. Where does your organization stand? Do you have each building block in place? Are you experiencing one or more of the problems identified to the right of the model? What will be the cost to your business -- or to you personally -- if execution of your business strategy falls behind schedule, perhaps even by a month or two?
Metrus Group can help you put the building blocks in place for superior strategy execution:
Aligned Goals: Studies show that up to a third of the senior executives involved in a failed change effort attribute the failure to a lack of agreement on strategy. Metrus Group can help you assess how well the senior executive team is aligned with the strategy, and how well strategy implementation is progressing. Our senior consultants have years of experience working with senior teams to leverage points of business strategy that can best serve as a platform for a high-impact performance measurement system. Let Metrus Group turn your next senior off-site into a focused roadmap for the future.
Business Acumen and Skills: Every employee is a decision maker. But most -- even many with senior management responsibilities -- are unaware of the financial implications of the choices they make. Consider this: The average employee believes that profits from sales range from 40 to 70 percent. Financial misperceptions impair strategic and operational performance. Metrus Group offers a unique series of Business Acumen workshops designed to help employees understand critical financial and operational elements that can rapidly improve cash flow and profitability.
Measured Accountabilities. What gets measured, gets managed. Well-aligned organizations have a linked system of metrics from the high-level strategy down to individual and team accountabilities. The metrics must extend beyond financial metrics to measures of core capabilities, values, supply chain, key areas of operational execution, and customer value. Our consultants can help you:
- Diagnose and evaluate your existing metrics and measurement systems [take our quick measurement quiz!]
- Train managers on methods for developing strategy-aligned measures for their units
- Implement a repeatable process for teams and individuals to establish measurable self accountability
- Help you fine-tune your performance measurement system from top to bottom
Linked Rewards. Employees can be rewarded in many ways besides just "more pay." In fact, for certain employees pay is third or fourth on the list of motivators. Whatever the reward, it is critical that rewards be closely linked to successful execution of the strategy. Metrus can help you:
- Identify key motivators for different job groups
- Evaluate the motivating factors of existing reward systems
- Develop alternative reward methods
- Ensure that reward systems are funded by profitable results
Metrus Group can help you:
- Significantly increase ROI
- Rapidly improve cash flow and profitability
- Increase the speed of effective change
- Improve consistency and predictability of results
- Get your employees thinking and acting like business owners
- Execute your strategic plan ahead of schedule
The following articles are available at our Recommended Reading page:
- Organizational Change: Lessons from a Turnaround by William A. Schiemann, Management Review
- Why Change Fails by William A. Schiemann, Across the Board
- Organizational Change Starts with a Strategic Focus by William A. Schiemann, Journal of Business Strategy
- Dealer Quality at Chrysler: New Ways of Assessing and Increasing Service, David Zatz, Quality Digest
- From Balanced Scorecard to Strategic Gauges: Is Measurement Worth It? (Study of 203 companies, nationally) by John H. Lingle and William A. Schiemann, Management Review
We also recommend:
- Driving Change Through Surveys, by William A. Schiemann, in Organizational Surveys, by Allen I. Kraut, 1996, pp 88-114
Strategy-Culture-Communication: Three Keys to Success by William A. Schiemann, Executive Excellence, August 1989, pp 11-12
We also recommend the critically acclaimed Bullseye! Hitting your strategic targets through high-impact measurement, available through Amazon.com and other fine resellers.
Facilitated Consultation Contact Me.
Strategic Measurement System Design
Performance Management Tune-up
Linking Aligned Accountabilities with Rewards