Most organisations have a strategy, but many struggle to deliver it. The key is to, in the words of Steven Covey, “Begin with the end in mind”.
A few years ago I was working in an organisation with a number of food-service divisions. One in particular was struggling to perform. On paper it had a great strategy – a nice vision, clear goals, and some well-evaluated programmes, but the indicators on the trackers stayed red.
Many of the outlets weren’t implementing, and where they were, the results weren’t coming through. The divisional leadership team was passionate and tried hard, but to no avail. Eventually the team was replaced, but the division has continued, to this day, to under-perform. Why?
Quite simply, the unit managers and teams either ignored, opted out of, or simply didn’t understand their role in the strategy. They lacked the focus, in many cases the will, and in some cases, the skill, to do what needed to be done. The situation is surprisingly common, especially in large organisations, and it comes down to a single insight.
Strategy does not create competitive advantage. It does not get you from where you are to where you want to be. It does not defeat the competition and ensure you realise your business objectives. People do.
The success of a strategy is entirely dependent on people’s ability to interpret it, and to feel motivated and empowered to deliver it. Once you buy into this simple precept, many of the reasons that organisations fail to deliver their strategies become apparent.
So here are the top five reasons strategies don’t get delivered
1. A 1-Dimensional Vision
A flat, unemotional vision is simply un-inspiring. To engage a workforce, and to attract passionate and driven people, a vision needs to sparkle. It needs to be a full, three-dimensional picture that inspires people to want to get there.
2. Self-serving Mission
An organisation that aims to become “the biggest” or “the most value-creating” is self-serving. Such a mission might work in the boardroom and for investors, but has little direct translation for much of the organisation. It will attract senior people whose key motivator is money and power, and generate a culture based around those values. Missions that speak primarily from a customer perspective are much more engaging for the people who interact with customers, whilst missions that seek to change the world, like Microsoft, Amazon and Google, can attract some of the greatest talent, inspiring suppliers and customers as well as employees.
3. Incremental Goals
Whilst it might work for the CFO, adding another 3% growth is not inspiring –annual budgets and corporate goals are not the same thing. Big, audacious goals break the vision into target-able chunks, and may run over several years, but will both inspire, and direct the efforts of the organisation. In the words of Jim Collins, “a true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines.”
4. Unclear responsibilities
A lack of clear responsibilities is a killer for organisational effectiveness and strategy delivery. It drains effort and energy that should be driving the organisation forwards, turning it inwards to create friction and tension within the structure. Allocating individual ownership and accountability for strategic deliverables – even if it subsequently has to be moved, is infinitely preferable to management by committee, or worse.
5. Going against the grain
Many organisations have obvious strengths such as purchasing scale, location advantages or brand equity, which form a key part of their strategy. However, successful strategy must also understand the organisation’s inner-strengths, in terms of “what are our people good at” and “what are our people passionate about”? This is essential when a strategy demands any significant degree of change. It doesn’t mean you can’t change, but if you’re going against the grain of the organisation, your strategy engagement needs to work twice as hard. For instance, if your people are passionate about service, and your strategy is increasingly to compete with lowest-cost operators, you’re pushing against the grain.
In summary
You may have noticed that none of the reasons are to do with organisations not “measuring and managing”. Let me explain why. Measuring delivery and adjusting to events is important, and many tools exist to help with it, but these are corrective actions. Great strategies mean people are inspired to do the right things themselves. Management interventions are light, and evolution happens from the ground up. Poor strategies need constant management action to correct and coerce delivery. Management systems will always have a role, but they are not the ultimate keys to success.
If we want our strategy to be delivered on the ground, we must start with the end in mind, and that end is to create a strategy that inherently motivates and inspires our people to deliver it.
In an ideal world, our strategies would all be world-beatingly innovative, incisive, and provide massive returns, but in reality, it’s far more important that:
1. Each of the elements are pin-sharp and crystal-clear
2. The narrative is ambitious, exciting and engaging
3. It translates directly to a personal level
Strategy development that is primarily focused on these outcomes may not produce a technically brilliant document, but it will guarantee the organisation a clear route to success. Which is more important?
