Friday, July 8, 2016

The Monthly Highlight: How to Improve the Strategy Execution Capability July 2016

Strategy is the light to guide you ahead, not the hand to walk you through.

The strategy is the focal point of the “Future of CIO,” and the pillar of organizational existence, its design, structure, functions, vision, and mission. A real strategy is neither a document nor a forecast but rather an overall approach based on a diagnosis of a challenge. It brings up new functions, roles, and responsibilities, collaboration, demand for intuition and emergence, complementarities, philosophy, neutron sciences, and trans-disciplinary businesses. But these are not new per se. The frameworks of thoughts, consciousness and maturity assessments apply to strategy, then, now and in the future. Here is the monthly strategy highlight of the “Future of CIO” blog in 2016.

How to Improve the Strategy Execution Capability July 2016
  • Strategy-Execution as an Ongoing Continuum: The strategy is what you intend to do or accomplishes in terms of managing the constraints to having the critical success factors in place to achieve the set of strategic priorities, and implementation is about how effective the strategy beyond technology achieves its defined goals. With the increasing speed of changes and continuous digital disruptions which are often caused by technologies, how frequently an organization should change its implementation plan to meet the desired strategic outcomes. Does it become difficult to secure the buy-in of stakeholders, if the implementation plans are changed too frequently? Are strategy-execution linear steps or an ongoing continuum?

  • How to Improve the Effectiveness of Strategy Execution? The word "strategy" is pretty amorphous with so many individual interpretations and nuances of its meaning that conversations about it often go astray amidst a blizzard of the latest buzzwords. To make it worse, more than 70% of strategy fails in execution. It is about many different matters like resistance to change, silos or units with competing agendas, lack of clear and decisive leadership, leadership actions inconsistent with strategy, poor communication of strategy, lack of accountability on follow-through; inability to measure impact, too focused on short-term results, and maybe the most popular and big obstacle: making it meaningful to frontiers, translating strategy to execution, aligning jobs to strategy. So how to improve strategy execution effectiveness?

  • How to Map Strategy-Execution Process?  Sound strategy and solid execution are both important. The strategy is more important because it helps the organization navigate through the thorny business journey ahead; but the execution is more difficult because it consumes resources, takes disciplines and practices to get it right. Strategy and execution need to go hand in hand. Knowing where you're heading is critical to supporting all the micro decisions along the way. However, the key objectives and opportunity to "pivot" can become lost in task planning and execution. So how to mind the gaps between strategy and execution, and how to manage the underlying business processes, build dynamic business capabilities in order to execute strategy more seamlessly?

  • Five Key Factors in Strategy Execution? Strategy execution is difficult. A recent executive survey indicated that execution excellence was the number one challenge facing corporate leaders globally. Statistically, about two-thirds to three-quarters of large organizations struggle to implement their strategies. Why does strategy execution unravel, and what are the key factors to lead the effectiveness of strategy execution?

  • How do you Measure Success of Strategy Execution Program? The purpose of the strategy is obviously to enable the organization to reach its strategic objective or vision. So, to measure the strategic execution is about how well organizations actually reach that goal or vision. What are the multifaceted aspect or logical steps to measure the success of your strategy execution program?

The “Future of CIO” Blog has reached 1.3 million page views with 2900+ blog posting in 59+ different categories of leadership, management, strategy, digitalization, change/talent, etc. blog posting. The content richness is not for its own sake, but to convey the vision and share the wisdom. Blogging is not about writing, but about thinking and innovating the new ideas; it’s not just about WHAT to say, but about WHY to say, and HOW to say it. It reflects the color and shade of your thought patterns, and it indicates the peaks and curves of your thinking waves. Unlike pure entertainment, quality and professional content takes time for digesting, contemplation and engaging, and therefore, it takes time to attract the "hungry minds" and the "deep souls." It’s the journey to amplify diverse voices and deepen digital footprints, and it's the way to harness your innovative spirit.

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