“Culture eats strategy for lunch, every day”
– Dick Clark, CEO Merck
And the start is the strategy formulation phase. Execution isn’t something you worry about after you have already finished crafting your strategy. You need to think about the implementation challenges at the same time you design your strategy.
Here’s an overview of the five most important implementation hazards to think about while developing your strategy. To give you a head start, I have included for each one, the key question(s) to ask during the strategy design phase.
1. The existing culture
Strategies that demand a large cultural shift are doomed to failure as cultural change is very hard to accomplish. Ask yourself: ‘How big is the culture change needed in order to execute the new strategy?’ and ‘Is the required change realistic?’.
2. The existing power structures
Each organisation has its own power structures, invisible at the surface and part of the ‘unwritten rules’ within the organisation. But they do exist. And they will influence your execution capabilities. Pose the following questions: ‘What are the current power structures in our organisation?’ and ‘How will they impact the implementation of the strategy we are developing?’.
3. The ability to change
Each strategy will demand a change effort. And I can tell you the effort is always bigger than you anticipate at the start. Ask yourself: ‘How much change can our organisation handle?’.
4. The maturity of the execution process.
Once finished, the strategy will use the existing execution processes in your organisation. Upgrading is possible but takes time. So ask yourself: ‘What’s the current maturity of our execution capabilities?’, ‘Is there a need to upgrade?’ and ‘How long will the upgrade realistically take to accomplish?’.
5. The maturity of the strategy execution skills
Related to previous. Processes need skilled people to operate them. The questions to ask: ‘What’s the current maturity of the manager’s execution skills?’, ‘Is there a need to upgrade?’ and ‘How long will the upgrade realistically take to accomplish?’.
