Strategy fails 9 out of 10 times!
We Know

In the last 12 months there has been a sudden explosion of books, articles and, yes, blogs stating that 9 out of 10 strategies fail to be implemented successfully.



We know.

It’s not new information. It’s ten years since Fortune magazine published the oft-quoted cover story, “Why CEOs Fail,” that explained, “Organizations fail to successfully implement strategy not because of bad strategy but because of bad execution.”



Seven years ago, Ram Charan followed up the article by teaming up with Larry Bossidy to write Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. The book introduced the field of implementation to business leader and why execution was important.



Five years ago, I wrote Bricks to Bridges: Make Your Strategy Come Alive, and published our research that, yep you guessed, 9 out of 10 times strategy fails. I am not sure why the sudden explosion (your comments are welcome) but leaders get it. They now know that they can’t discuss strategy without discussing implementation.



It has not been a hard sell to convince a leader that more often than not implementation fails and that they need to do something different. Too many leaders on too many occasions have been involved in too many failures. Sub consciously they knew there was a problem. The literature over the last 10 years has supplied the numerical and logical argument to support the emotional one. It is time to move on.



We are not attempting to convince everyone that the world is round, or that heavier object do not fall to the ground faster than lighter objects or that E=MC2. Around the world, leaders understand the arguments, have recognized the opportunity and understand that a different approach is needed. Leaders are now asking, “What do we do different?”



We have peaked leaders curiosity. We have provided a solid argument and we have built the platform to move forward. We must now shift the message from what’s wrong to how to resolve the problem. Leaders want to know how they can reverse the equation.



Leaders must change their attitude, approach and actions. To do this we must provide them a framework to ensure they are taking the right action (strategy implementation is the collective individual actions taken every day by staff members who will deliver the strategy for tomorrow). The framework explains to leaders specifically what they need to do differently. Check out strategy implementation framework for an example of a framework you can use.
Many of the actions leaders need to take to successfully implement the strategy are contrary to current belief, such as, most people do not resist implementation when it is communicated correctly and strategy implementation must be reviewed not every quarter but every two weeks.



To the many things leaders must do different there is one overriding transformation they must make. Most people agree that leaders are responsible for the future of the company and thus the strategy. Why then do many leaders spend more time talking about operations than strategy? If you are looking to be successful in strategy implementation and somewhere to start, start by changing the daily dialogues among leaders. Ensure you are spending more time talking about strategy and its implementation than operational issues.