Making Sure Your Strategy Fails - Eight Global Worst Practices of Strategy Implementation

It is time to reveal the secrets of failed implementation. With more books being published in the last 24 months than there had been to date on strategy implementation (including my own, Beyond Strategy – The Leaders Role in Successful Implementation, by John Wiley this week) it is no longer a secret what nine out of ten companies do to make sure that their corporate strategy fails. In sharing the eight global “worst practices” I appeal to all strategy saboteurs around the world.

Eight Global Worst Practices of Strategy Implementation

1. Underestimate the implementation challenge

Strategy is the key responsibility of leaders and implementation is the key responsibility of staff members. After spending 18 months developing the strategy you have earned that long overdue break. You have delivered on your key responsibility of identifying the company’s future and how to get there. Now it is up to the staff members to deliver on their responsibilities. Tell them what needs to be done and they will deliver.

2. Don’t think through the impact on each vertical business line

When developing strategy it is essential that leaders adopt a helicopter view and look horizontally across the businesses and even more importantly consider how the strategic objectives impact each other. After considering this, each leader can then be expected to return to their office and drill down the strategy into their division and departments. Corporate wide strategies, goals and measures will be translated at departmental level and everyone will have a clear sense of responsibility with regards to the new strategy and the actions they need to take to make it come alive.

3. Use change management methodology

For the last 40 years we have used been using change management methodologies as a sure fire way to execute strategy and there is no reason to change our current approach.

4. Don’t use a strategy implementation framework

When leaders return to their office after the board has signed off on the new strategy they have a strong understanding of what they need to not only do next but also over the long-term to deliver on the promises they have made. They will immediately set about ensuring measures are changed to track the new strategy and eliminate the old ones. They will initiate process redesign groups, communicate the strategy and align the implementation with the culture. They will also support the people who support the strategy, change reward and recognition to align it with the desired behaviors and actions of the new strategy and every two week review the implementation to make sure it is on course. All of this is second nature to a leader and there is no need to waste money adopting an implementation framework or hiring a consultant.

5. Do not reinforce staff members for taking specific actions

It is a given that staff members will adopt the new desired behaviors and actions of the new strategy as this is their responsibility. They understand that it is the collective action of every member that takes the company forward (or backward). They know that everyone is responsible for strategy.

6. Allow communications to fizzle out after the initial launch

It is essential to launch the strategy and the most popular methods include town hall meetings, newsletters and email campaigns. After the initial launch the staff members will have a clear understanding about why the company requires a new strategy, the actions they need to take and will be motivated to take them. Even more, the understanding and motivation will last for the full period of time it takes to implement the strategy and will not falter or rescind.

7. Don’t worry about the work that is no longer adding value

Staff members are amazingly intuitive and self starters. As the strategy is rolled out they will constantly be able to step back and reflect on what needs to be done differently. Even more impressive is that they will overcome the juxtaposition of the work that needs to be done and that, that is no longer adding value.

8. Implementation of strategy is a serious subject, not fun

When implementing strategy we are talking about the future of the company and this is not a time for light hearted comments, discussions or actions. Everyone in the company understands the importance and their responsibility. This is not a time for being frivolous.

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.