How can you make an organization capable to fit with good strategy execution?

You’ve set organizational goals and formulated a strategic plan. Now, how do you ensure it gets done?

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Strategy execution is the implementation of a strategic plan in an effort to reach organizational goals. It comprises the daily structures, systems, and operational goals that set your team up for success.

Even the best strategic plans can fall flat without the right execution. In fact, 90 percent of businesses fail to reach their strategic goals, which researchers believe is due to a gap between strategic planning and execution.

“If you’ve looked at the news lately, you’ve probably seen stories of businesses with great strategies that have failed,” says Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons, who teaches the online course Strategy Execution. “In each case, we find a business strategy that was well formulated but poorly executed.”

How can you equip yourself and your team to implement the plans you’ve crafted? Here are five keys to successful strategy execution you can use at your organization.

Keys to Successful Strategy Execution

1. Commit to a Strategic Plan

Before diving into execution, it’s important to ensure all decision-makers and stakeholders agree on the strategic plan.

Research in the Harvard Business Review shows that 71 percent of employees in companies with weak execution believe strategic decisions are second-guessed, as opposed to 45 percent of employees from companies with strong execution.

Committing to a strategic plan before beginning implementation ensures all decision-makers and their teams are aligned on the same goals. This creates a shared understanding of the larger strategic plan throughout the organization.

Strategies aren’t stagnant—they should evolve with new challenges and opportunities. Communication is critical to ensuring you and your colleagues start on the same page and stay aligned as time goes on.

2. Align Jobs to Strategy

One barrier many companies face in strategy execution is that employees’ roles aren’t designed with strategy in mind.

This can occur when employees are hired before a strategy is formulated, or when roles are established to align with a former company strategy.

In Strategy Execution, Simons posits that jobs are optimized for high performance when they line up with an organizational strategy. He created the Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT) that individuals can use to assess whether their organization's jobs are designed for successful strategy execution.

The JDOT assesses a job’s design based on four factors, or “spans”: control, accountability, influence, and support.

“Each span can be adjusted so that it’s narrow or wide or somewhere in between,” Simons writes in the Harvard Business Review. “I think of the adjustments as being made on sliders, like those found on music amplifiers. If you get the settings right, you can design a job in which a talented individual can successfully execute your company’s strategy. But if you get the settings wrong, it will be difficult for any employee to be effective.”

3. Communicate Clearly to Empower Employees

When it comes to strategy execution, the power of clear communication can’t be overlooked. Given that a staggering 95 percent of employees don’t understand or are unaware of their company’s strategy, communication is a skill worth improving.

Strategy execution depends on each member of your organization's daily tasks and decisions, so it’s vital to ensure everyone understands not only the company's broader strategic goals, but how their individual responsibilities make achieving them possible.

Data outlined in the Harvard Business Review shows that 61 percent of staff at strong-execution companies believe field and line employees are given the information necessary to understand the bottom-line impact of their work and decisions. In weak-execution organizations, just 28 percent believe this to be true.

To boost your organization’s performance and empower your employees, train managers to communicate the impact of their team's daily work, address the organization in an all-staff meeting, and foster a culture that celebrates milestones on the way to reaching large strategic goals.

4. Measure and Monitor Performance

Strategy execution relies on continually assessing progress toward goals. For this to be possible, key performance indicators (KPIs) should be determined during the strategic planning stage, and success should be defined numerically.

A numeric goal allows you and your team to regularly track and monitor performance and assess if any changes need to be made based on that progress.

For instance, your company’s strategic goal could be to increase its customer retention rate by 30 percent by 2022. By keeping a record of the change in customer retention rate on a weekly or monthly basis, you can observe data trends over time.

If records show that your customer retention rate is decreasing month over month, it could signal that your strategic plan requires pivoting because it’s not driving the change you desire. If, however, your data shows steady month-over-month growth, you can use that trend to reasonably predict whether you’ll reach your goal of a 30 percent increase by 2022.

5. Balance Innovation and Control

While innovation is an essential driving force for company growth, don’t let it derail the execution of your strategy.

To leverage innovation and maintain control over your current strategy implementation, develop a process to evaluate challenges, barriers, and opportunities that arise. Who makes decisions that may pivot your strategy’s focus? What pieces of the strategy are non-negotiable? Answering questions like these upfront can allow for clarity during execution.

Also, remember that a stagnant organization has no room for growth. Encourage employees to brainstorm, experiment, and take calculated risks with strategic goals in mind.

Related: 23 Resources for Mobilizing Innovation in Your Organization

Developing Your Strategic Toolkit

Setting strategic goals, formulating a plan, and executing a strategy each require a different set of skills and come with their own challenges. Keeping in mind that even the best formulated strategy can be poorly executed, consider bolstering your execution skills before setting strategic goals and putting a plan in place.

Are you interested in designing systems and structures to meet your organization’s strategic goals? Explore our eight-week Strategy Execution course and other online strategy courses to hone your strategic planning and execution skills. To find the right HBS Online Strategy course for you, download the free flowchart.

Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution Screen graphics created by: Jana F. Kuzmicki, Ph.D. Troy University-Florida Region McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

“The best game plan in the world never blocked or tackled anybody.” Vince Lombardi

“A second-rate strategy perfectly executed will beat a first-rate strategy poorly executed every time.” Richard M. Kovacevich

Chapter Roadmap A Framework for Executing Strategy The Principal Managerial Components of the Strategy Execution Process Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution Staffing the Organization Building Core Competencies and Competitive Capabilities Execution-Related Aspects of Organizing the Work Effort Current Organizational Trends

Crafting vs. Executing Strategy Crafting the Strategy Primarily a market-driven activity Successful strategy making depends on Business vision Perceptive analysis of market conditions and company capabilities Attracting and pleasing customers Outcompeting rivals Using company capabilities to forge a competitive advantage Executing the Strategy Primarily an operations-driven activity Successful strategy execution depends on Doing a good job of working through others Good organization-building Building competitive capabilities Creating a strategy-supportive culture Getting things done and delivering good results

Executing the Strategy An action-oriented, make-things happen task involving management’s ability to Direct organizational change Achieve continuous improvement in operations and business processes Move toward operating excellence Create and nurture a strategy-supportive culture Consistently meet or beat performance targets Tougher and more time-consuming than crafting strategy Implementation involves . . .

Implementing a New Strategy Requires Adept Leadership Implementing a new strategy takes adept leadership to Convincingly communicate reasons for the new strategy Overcome pockets of doubt Secure commitment of concerned parties Build consensus and enthusiasm Get all implementation pieces in place and coordinated

Why Executing Strategy Is a Tough Management Job Overcoming resistance to change Wide array of demanding managerial activities to be performed Numerous ways to tackle each activity Number of bedeviling issues to be worked out Demands good people management skills Requires launching and managing a variety of initiatives simultaneously Hard to integrate efforts of many different work groups into a smoothly-functioning whole

Who Are the Strategy Implementers? Implementing and executing strategy involves a company’s whole management team and all employees Just as every part of a watch plays a role in making the watch function properly, it takes all pieces of an organization working cohesively for a strategy to be well-executed Top-level managers must lead the process and orchestrate major initiatives But they must rely on cooperation of Middle and lower-level managers to see things go well in various parts of an organization and Employees to perform their roles competently

Goals of the Strategy Implementing-Executing Process Unite total organization behind strategy See that activities are done in a manner that is conducive to first-rate strategy execution Generate commitment so an enthusiastic crusade emerges to carry out strategy Fit how organization conducts its operations to strategy requirements

Characteristics of the Strategy Implementation Process Every manager has an active role No proven “formula” for implementing particular types of strategies There are guidelines, but no absolute rules and “must do it this way” rules Many ways to proceed that are capable of working Cuts across many aspects of “how to manage”

Characteristics of the Strategy Implementation Process (continued) Each implementation situation occurs in a different context, affected by differing Business practices and competitive situations Work environments and cultures Policies Compensation incentives Mix of personalities and firm histories Approach to implementation/execution has be customized to fit the situation People implement strategies - Not companies!

Fig. 11.1: The Eight Components of the Strategy Execution Process

What Top Executives Have to Do in Leading the Implementation Process Communicate the case for change Build consensus on how to proceed Arouse enthusiasm for the strategy to turn implementation process into a companywide crusade Empower subordinates to keep process moving Establish measures of progress and deadlines Reward those who achieve implementation milestones Direct resources to the right places Personally lead strategic change process and the drive for operating excellence

Test Your Knowledge Management's handling of the strategy implementation/execution process can be considered successful A. so long as a company is profitable. B. if and when the company meets or beats its performance targets and shows good progress in achieving its strategic vision for the company. C. once the company's management team convinces a majority of company personnel that the company is headed in the right direction. D. if management is able to put the strategy in place within 6 months. E. once a capable top management team has been hired, employees have been appropriately empowered, and effective training programs for company personnel have been put in place. Answer: B

BUILDING A CAPABLE ORGANIZATION — WHAT IS INVOLVED?

Fig. 11.2: The Three Components of Building an Organization Capable of Proficient Strategy Execution

Putting Together a Strong Management Team Assembling a capable management team is a cornerstone of the organization-building task Find the right people to fill each slot Existing management team may be suitable Core executive group may need strengthening Promote from within Bring in skilled outsiders

Selecting the Management Team: Key Considerations Determine mix of Backgrounds Experiences and know-how Beliefs and values Styles of managing and personalities Personal chemistry must be right Talent base needs to be appropriate Picking a solid management team needs to be acted on early in implementation process

Recruiting and Retaining Talented Employees: Implementation Issues The quality of a company’s people is an essential ingredient of successful strategy execution Biggest challenge facing companies How to recruit and retain the best and brightest talent with strong skill sets and management potential Intellectual capital, not tangible assets, is increasingly being viewed as the most important investment Talented people are a prime source of competitive advantage

Key Human Resource Practices to Attract and Retain Talented Employees Spend considerable effort in screening job applicants, selecting only those with Suitable skill sets Energy and initiative Judgment and aptitudes for learning Ability to adapt to firm’s work environment and culture Put employees through training programs throughout their careers Give promising employees challenging, interesting, and skills-stretching assignments

Encourage employees to Key Human Resource Practices to Attract and Retain Talented Employees (continued) Rotate employees through jobs with great content, spanning functional and geographic boundaries Encourage employees to Be creative and innovative Challenge existing ways of doing things and offer better ways Submit ideas for new products or businesses Foster a stimulating work environment Exert efforts to retain high-potential employees with excellent salary and benefits Coach average employees to improve their skills

Building Core Competencies and Competitive Capabilities Crafting the strategy involves Identifying the desired competencies and capabilities to build into the strategy to help achieve a competitive advantage Good strategy execution requires Putting desired competencies and capabilities in place, Upgrading them as needed, and Modifying them as market conditions evolve

Example: Intel’s Core Competence Design and mass production of complex chips for personal computers

Example: Procter & Gamble’s Core Competencies Superb marketing-distribution skills and R&D capabilities in five core technologies - fats, oils, skin chemistry, surfactants, emulsifiers

Example: General Electric’s Core Competencies Developing professional managers with broad problem-solving skills and proven ability to grow global businesses

Example: Disney’s Core Competencies Theme park operation and family entertainment

Example: Dell’s Core Competencies Capabilities to deliver state-of-the-art products to customers within days of next-generation components coming available and at attractively low costs

Example: Toyota’s Core Competence Legendary “production system” giving it the capability to produce high-quality vehicles at relatively low costs

Three-Stage Process of Developing Competencies and Capabilities 1. Develop ability to do something 2. As experience builds, ability can translate into a competence or capability 3. If ability continues to be polished and refined, it can become a distinctive competence, providing a path to competitive advantage!

Step 1 in Developing Competencies Develop ability to do something Select people with relevant skills/experience Broaden or expand individual abilities as needed Mold efforts and work products of individuals into a cooperative effort to create organizational ability

Step 2 in Developing Competencies As experience builds and company learns how to perform the activity consistently well and at acceptable cost, the ability evolves into a competence or capability Typically, a capability or competence emerges from establishing and nurturing collaborative relationships between Individuals and groups in different departments and/or A company and its external allies

Step 3 in Developing Competencies If company masters the activity, performing it better than rivals, the “capability” or “competence” becomes a Distinctive competence and Holds potential for competitive advantage This is the optimal outcome of the process of building capabilities-competencies!

Managing the Process of Building Competences: Four Key Traits 1. Competencies are bundles of skills and know-how growing from combined efforts of cross-functional departments 2. Normally, competencies emerge incrementally from various company efforts to respond to market conditions 3. Leveraging competencies into competitive advantage requires concentrating more effort and talent than rivals on strengthening competencies to create valuable capabilities 4. Sustaining competitive advantage requires adjusting competencies to new conditions

Approaches to Developing Competencies Internal development involves either Strengthening the company’s base of skills, knowledge, and intellect or Coordinating and networking the efforts of various work groups and departments Partnering with key suppliers, forming strategic alliances, or maybe even outsourcing certain activities to specialists Buying a company that has the required capabilities and integrating these competences into the firm’s value chain

Updating Competencies and Capabilities as Conditions Change Competencies and capabilities must continuously be modified and perhaps even replaced with new ones due to New strategic requirements Evolving market conditions Changing customer expectations Ongoing efforts to keep core competencies up-to-date can provide a basis for sustaining both Effective strategy execution and Competitive advantage

Strategic Role of Employee Training Training plays a critical role in implementation when a firm shifts to a strategy requiring different Skills or core competences Competitive capabilities Managerial approaches Operating methods Types of training approaches Internal “universities” Orientation sessions for new employees Tuition reimbursement programs Online training courses

Competitive Advantage Potential of Competencies and Capabilities When it is difficult to outstrategize rivals with a superior strategy . . . . . . Best avenue to industry leadership is to out-compete rivals with superior strategy execution! Building competencies and capabilities rivals can’t match is one of the best ways to out-compete them!

Test Your Knowledge When it is difficult or impossible to out-strategize rivals (beat them with a superior strategy), the other main avenue to competitive advantage is to A. institute a lower cost organization structure. B. outcompete them with smarter managers. C. do a better job of selecting and training employees. D. outexecute them (beat them by performing certain value chain activities in superior fashion). E. do a better job of empowering and motivating employees. Answer: D

Execution-Related Aspects of Organizing Work Efforts Few hard and fast rules for organizing One Big Rule: Role and purpose of organization structure is to support and facilitate good strategy execution! Each firm’s structure is idiosyncratic, reflecting Prior arrangements and internal politics Executive judgments and preferences about how to arrange reporting relationships How best to integrate and coordinate work effort of different work groups and departments Vice President CEO

Fig. 11.3: Structuring the Work Effort to Promote Successful Strategy Execution

Involves deciding which activities are essential to strategic success Step 1: Decide Which Value Chain Activities to Perform Internally and Which to Outsource Involves deciding which activities are essential to strategic success Most strategies entail certain crucial business processes or activities that must be performed exceedingly well or in closely coordinated fashion if the strategy is to be executed with real proficiency These processes/activities usually need to be performed internally Other activities, such as routine administrative housekeeping and some support functions, may be candidates for outsourcing Critical activities

Determining Strategy-Critical Activities: Issues to Consider 1. What functions or business processes have to be performed extra well or in timely fashion to achieve competitive advantage? 2. In what value-chain activities would poor execution seriously impair strategic success?

Potential Advantages of Outsourcing Non-Critical Activities A company improves its chances for outclassing rivals in Performing strategy-critical activities and Turning a core competence into a distinctive competence Streamlining of internal operations that flows from outsourcing acts to Decrease internal bureaucracies Flatten organization structure Speed decision-making Increase competitive responsiveness Partnerships can add to a company’s arsenal of capabilities and contribute to better strategy execution

Appeal of Outsourcing Outsourcing non-critical activities allows a firm to concentrate its energies and resources on those value-chain activities where it Can create unique value Can be best in the industry Needs direct control to Build core competencies Achieve competitive advantage Manage key customer-supplier-distributor relationships

Potential Advantages of Partnering By building, improving, and then leveraging partnerships, a firm enhances its overall capabilities and builds resource strengths that Deliver value to customers Rivals can’t quite match Consequently pave the way for competitive success Partnering makes strategic sense when the result is to enhance a company’s competencies and competitive capabilities.

Dangers of Outsourcing A company must guard against hollowing out its knowledge base and capabilities Way to guard against pitfalls of outsourcing Avoid sourcing key components from a single supplier Use two or three suppliers to minimize dependence on any one supplier Regularly evaluate suppliers Work closely with key suppliers

For Discussion: Your Opinion While many people have criticized companies that have outsourced functions once performed in-house to foreign suppliers (who can perform the functions more cheaply) because outsourcing results in involuntary layoffs or job cuts, it is really fairer and more accurate to view outsourcing as a means whereby a company can enhance its competitiveness and thereby better protect the jobs of the remaining employees. True or false? Explain. True. Outsourcing non-critical activities allows a firm to concentrate its energies and resources on those value-chain activities where it can create unique value and be the best in its industry. Thus, a company improves its chances for outclassing rivals in performing strategy-critical activities and turning a core competence into a distinctive competence, ultimately leading to the achievement of a competitive advantage. Outsourcing also allows a firm to streamline its internal operations which often results in decreasing its internal bureaucracy. This enables a firm to flatten its organization structure which will speed decision-making and increase competitive responsiveness. Ideally, partnerships can add to a company’s arsenal of capabilities and contribute to better strategy execution.

Step 2: Make Strategy-Critical Activities the Main Building Blocks Assign managers of strategy-critical activities a visible, influential position Avoid fragmenting responsibility for strategy-critical activities across many departments Provide coordinating linkages between related work groups Meld into a valuable competitive capability Assign managers key roles Primary activities Strategic relation- ships Coordi- nation Valuable capability Support functions

What Types of Organizational Structures Fit Which Strategies? A company operating in one business Functional department structure A company with operations in various parts of the world Geographic organizational units A vertically integrated company Divisional organizational structure A diversified company Individual businesses, with each business unit operating as independent profit center

Step 3: Determine How Much Authority to Delegate to Whom In a centralized structure Top managers retain authority for most decisions In a decentralized structure Managers and employees are empowered to make decisions Trend in most companies Shift from authoritarian to decentralized structures stressing empowerment

Characteristics of Centralized Decision Making Top executives retain authority For most strategic and operating decisions and Keep a tight rein on lower-level managers Minimal discretionary authority is granted to Frontline supervisors Rank-and-file employees Key advantage – Tight control by top managers fixes accountability Disadvantages Lengthens response time to changing conditions Does not encourage responsibility among lower-level managers and employees Discourages lower-level managers and employees from exercising initiative

Advantages of a Decentralized Structure Creates a more horizontal structure with fewer management layers Managers and employees develop their own answers and action plans Make decisions in their areas of responsibility Held accountable for results Shortens organizational response times and spurs New ideas Creative thinking and innovation Greater involvement of managers and employees Jobs can be defined more broadly Fewer managers are needed Electronic communication systems provide quick, direct access to data Genuine gains in morale and productivity

Maintaining Control in a Decentralized Structure Place limits on authority empowered employees can exercise Hold people accountable for their decisions Institute compensation incentives that reward employees for doing their jobs in a manner contributing to good company performance Create a corporate culture where there’s strong peer pressure on employees to act responsibly

For Discussion: Your Opinion A decentralized organization structure is more likely to further the cause of good strategy execution than is a centralized organization structure. True or false? Explain. True. In a decentralized structure, managers and employees develop their own answers and action plans, make decisions in their areas of responsibility, and are held accountable for results. A decentralized structure shortens organizational response times and spurs new ideas, creative thinking and innovation, and greater involvement of managers and employees. In addition, in a decentralized structure jobs can be defined more broadly, fewer managers are needed, electronic communication systems provide quick, direct access to data, and there are often gains in employee morale and productivity.

Step 4: Provide for Internal Cross-Unit Coordination Classic method of coordinating activities – Have related units report to single manager Upper-level managers have clout to coordinate efforts of their units Support activities should be woven into structure to Maximize performance of primary activities Contain costs of support activities Formal reporting relationships often need to be supplemented to facilitate coordination

Guard Against Functional Designs That Fragment Activities Scattering pieces of critical business processes across several specialized departments results in Many hand-offs which Lengthens completion time Drives up administrative costs Increases risk of details falling through the cracks Obsession with activity rather than result Solution  Business process reengineering Involves pulling strategy-critical processes from functional departments to create process departments or cross-functional work groups

Examples of Fragmented Strategy-Critical Activities Filling customer orders Speeding new products to market Improving product quality Supply chain management Building capability to conduct business via the Internet Obtaining feedback from customers, making product modifications to meet their needs

Coordinating Mechanisms to Supplement the Basic Organization Structure Cross-functional task forces Dual reporting relationships Informal networking Voluntary cooperation Incentive compensation tied to group performance Teamwork and cross- departmental cooperation

Step 5: Provide for Collaboration With Outsiders Need multiple ties at multiple levels to ensure Communication Coordination and control Find ways to produce collaborative efforts to enhance firm’s capabilities and resource strengths While collaborative relationships present opportunities, nothing valuable is realized until the relationship develops into an engine for better organizational performance

Roles of Relationship Managers With Strategic Partners Get right people together Promote good rapport See plans for specific activities are developed and implemented Help adjust internal procedures and communication systems to Iron out operating dissimilarities Nurture interpersonal ties

Test Your Knowledge Which one of the following tends to be most important in building an organization capable of good strategy execution? A. Selecting a capable management team and selecting and training employees B. Building and strengthening competencies and competitive capabilities C. Empowering employees and utilizing the advantages of decentralized decision-making D. Making strategy-critical activities the main building blocks in the organizational scheme E. None of the above is necessarily more or less important—what factors prove to be particularly important in building an organization that is capable of good strategy execution can vary from company to company and situation to situation. Answer: E

Current Organizational Trends Numerous companies have completed the task of remodeling traditional, hierarchical structures built on Functional specialization and Centralized authority Corporate downsizing movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s was aimed at Recasting authoritarian, pyramidal organizational structures Into flatter, decentralized structures

Drawbacks of Centralized Authoritarian Structures Centralized or authoritarian structures have often turned out to be a liability where Customer preferences shift from standardized to customized products Product life-cycles grow shorter Flexible manufacturing replaces mass production Customers want to be treated as individuals Pace of technological change accelerates Market conditions are fluid

Organizational Structures of the Future: Overall Themes Revolutionary changes in how work is organized have been triggered by New strategic priorities Rapidly shifting competitive conditions Tools of organizational design include Empowered managers and workers Reengineered work processes Self-directed work teams Rapid incorporation of Internet technology Networking with outsiders The future structure will be . . .

Characteristics of Organizations of the Future Extensive use of Internet technology and e-commerce business practices Fewer barriers between Different vertical ranks Functions and disciplines Units in different geographic locations Company and its suppliers, distributors, strategic allies, and customers Capacity for change and rapid learning Collaborative efforts among people in different functions and geographic locations Change & Learning

What does a good strategy execution requires?

What are the three key actions in building an organization capable of good strategy execution?

How is it strategy can support to achieve the business strategy of an organization?

How would you set up your organization to ensure the effective implementation of your strategies?