Execution Foundations – Implementation

Corporate - Foundations of Strategy Execution

Implementing the strategy execution process

Apply the strategy execution process through a strategy execution plan. Develop a strategy execution plan as part of strategic planning or strategy formulation activity.

The strategy execution plan may comprise the following:

  • Governance structure, arrangements, and accountabilities for strategy execution and the strategy execution process.
  • Action agenda for the next 30, 60, or 90 days that specifies who is accountable for each critical task of the strategy execution plan and how performance against the plan will be measured, monitored, and reviewed.
  • Contextualise the strategy execution framework to the organisation, its corporate strategy, culture, and context (internal and external).
  • Information on the corporate strategy, and organisational risk appetite and tolerance.
  • Criteria and mechanisms for cascading and aligning the corporate strategy, strategic objectives, and key performance indicators throughout organisational levels and across value chains (vertical alignment and horizontal integration).
  • How strategic and operational risks and appetite for risk are identified, assessed, and managed at different levels of the organisation.
  • How various management practices and common touch-points are practically integrated into one coherent management system for strategy execution.
  • Mechanisms for stakeholder communication, engagement, reporting, and change management.
  • How strategic initiatives and actions are defined and prioritised, linked to the appropriate budget and resource allocations.
  • Criteria and mechanisms for escalating, aggregating, consolidating and communicating information about performance, risks, controls, and budgets to the level above, right up to the board, and across organisational boundaries and value chains
  • Continuous performance reporting, feedback, improvement, experimentations, and adaptation.
  • Regular monitoring and review of the effectiveness, efficiencies, and quality of the strategy execution plan and the framework, process, and integrated management system for strategy execution.

References

Booz & Co (2012). The New Functional Agenda How Corporate Functions Can Add Value in a New Strategic Era.

Dishneau, D. (1992). Sears Admits Mistakes, Takes Auto Workers Off Commission. The Associated Press. June 22; 14.

Eisenhardt, K.M. and Sull, D.N. (2001). Strategy as Simple Rules. Harvard Business Review (January); 107–111.

Kaplan, R.S. and Norton, D.P. (2004). Strategy Maps — Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Nadler, D. A. and Tushman, M. L. (1980). A congruence model for diagnosing organizational behavior, Miles, R. (Ed.) Resource Book in Macro Organizational Behavior, Santa Clara CA, Goodyear; 30–49.

Rucci, A.J., Kim, S.P., and Quinn, R.T. (1998). The employee-customer-profit chain at Sears. Harvard Business Review (January-February); 83–97.

Upadhyay, A.Y.A and Palo, S. (2013). Engaging employees through balanced scorecard implementation. Strategic HR Review. Vol. 12. №6; 302–307

Walton, M. (1988). The Deming Management Method. Perigee Books.