Developing a cohesive strategy is essential for any business to succeed and outperform competitors. Strategic planning isn’t easy by any means, but the real secret to success is not in the planning phase but instead in how you implement that strategy into your business. Tom Wright, CEO & Founder at Cascade, shares five points to keep in mind for successful implementation.
While many organizations put in tedious effort to craft a strategic plan, making tangible changes to business practices can often prove to be challenging. This is usually the case if the approach does not fully fit with the present structure of the enterprise, the future needs of the business that are unique to its vision and the culture that the organization wishes to build. Here are five essentials to overcome this challenge and ensure your strategy is embedded into your business.Â
Five Keys to Unlock the Potential of Strategy Implementation
Here are five essential factors to keep in mind when developing a business strategy that aligns with your goals and is easy to implement.
1. Commit. Commit. Commit.
Strategizing involves self-reflection and an honest review of your performance and how that matches your expectations. Where are you now? Where do you want to be? How will you get there? With all the effort into the strategic planning process, you’d better be ready to put even more into strategy execution.Â
Long-term organizational strategy can’t be implemented in just a few days. It can take weeks to mesh it with every business process and make sure every manager and employee understands and buys in too. During this friction, the best thing you can do is be patient, understanding, and commit to the strategy you’ve put together.Â
Consider: The C-Suite meets to discuss a new long-term strategy, but implementation is left as an afterthought. This leaves the day-to-day operations running as always, with the new strategy floating in the ether above.Â
Next Steps: Instead of letting this situation go on, make sure you take time to map out your strategy accurately. This includes how specifically it will be implemented. Continue to meet with leaders and managers to develop actionable changes to align with the long-term vision you’re focused on.Â
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2. Align Strategy with Structure
How your organization is structured will impact how strategy can be executed. Ask yourself:
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- Is each person and component ready to execute the new strategy? If not, what changes need to happen to make this a reality?
- What sort of disruption might be involved when implementing this strategy?
Sometimes, structure and strategy are already aligned. But if a new objective now spans multiple departments, you may need to consider reorganizing departments and teams to tackle these specific objectives. Otherwise, you risk confusion across teams or one team, assuming the other will get the job done and vice versa. When a new strategy comes into play, it’s normal for team structure to adjust over time. Change should be treated as normal and embraced. It’s essential to move past the planning phase and outline objectives and goals for specific people and teams.Â
Consider: A media company aligns on a new strategy and realizes the video department needs to be redistributed. But the department is key to many other teams. So, instead of making a drastic change overnight, the department can slowly be scaled down, with specific cross-department activities reduced one by one.Â
Next steps: Consider the impact of scaling down or up to one department. How will it impact the company as a whole? Keep this in mind as you make changes.Â
3. Align Strategy to Culture
It’s critical to ensure that organizational leaders and cultural role models are on board with the strategy and vision. When a leader is on board with a new plan of action, it is easier to get the rest of the team to buy into the idea.Â
From the C-Suite downwards, everyone needs to understand the long-term vision. The strategy must be tied to purpose and values. Leaders need to communicate context for strategy and why changes are happening. The purpose should be reinforced on a daily basis so each employee knows what they are working toward. And anything that doesn’t align with a company’s purpose or values should be discarded.
Consider: A new strategy was developed without considering key personnel’s feedback. These individuals are unlikely to be on board with the new approach.Â
Next steps: Make sure all voices are heard, even those not generally involved in strategy-level discussion. Make sure all leaders are consulted. When developing a strategy, ensure values, purpose, and culture are all considered.
4. Fostering an Environment for Strategy SuccessÂ
Even if you align your teams properly to execute the strategy from a resource perspective, it doesn’t mean it’ll begin to work right away. Change takes time, focus, and compromise. It also needs an environment that fosters growth and support through ups and downs.Â
Communication is key. You can’t over-communicate during times of change. Keeping everyone involved will allow strategy iterations and adaptability to run more smoothly. Getting everyone on the same page is priceless for an organization. Change is naturally challenging. Clarify what is happening and why. Make everyone accountable. Let teams and individuals know their success metrics and give them the tools and support to hit and exceed these goals.Â
Consider: A manufacturing company decided to focus on its core product line while discontinuing the others. Leadership hasn’t communicated well to staff why this change is being made, creating confusion.
Next steps: Explain why the previous strategy is no longer working and why a new one is being put into place. Make sure employees who have their role changing are given the training and support needed to do a good job at new tasks.Â
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5. Realistic Goals and Targets
When a new strategy is implemented, the associated goals can seem daunting. If they are unrealistic or seem this way at first, this can negatively affect employees. Make goals and targets during times of change manageable. Slowly these can change over time as the new strategy moves forward.Â
Consider: A leader has huge ambitions involving growth and hitting financial targets. The strategy has been laid out to achieve these goals, but they seem so far away that employees feel discouraged.Â
Next steps: Make sure feedback is heard during strategy conversations. This will ensure targets are set in reality.Â
Moving Ahead Strategically
Implementing a new strategy is a tall task for any organization. It takes commitment to vision as you chart a new course, courage, and the willingness to change for that new vision, piece by piece if need be. When all key factors are considered – from structure, culture, and environment to attitudes and goals – success is on the horizon and within reach.Â
What are your key areas of focus in implementing strategy effectively? Share your thoughts on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to know!