Where Does Strategy Management Start?

Where Does Strategy Management Start?

The following represent the 5 most common areas of need in an organization that set it on a course toward improved execution.

1: Strategy Clarification – Many don’t do a good job of simplifying their strategy, leadership teams commonly do not agree on their strategy, and agreed strategies often are deployed with inherent conflicts that are not rationalized.

2: Deployment & Alignment – Often times employees and business units do not understand how they fit into a strategy, internal silos make cross-functional collaboration very difficult, and performance accountability is very weak.

3: Planning – Financial plans frequently do not directly support a strategy, hiring plans seem disconnected from strategic needs, and current planning processes often have a life of their own without adding real value.

4: Execution and Improvement – Organizations rarely understand which processes are most important to their strategy, process improvement efforts seem to be a big hammer chasing every nail, and the list of initiatives seems to be never-ending.

5: Performance Reviews and Decision Making – Leadership teams do not routinely or systematically talk about strategy (always tactics), meetings are exercises in PowerPoint showmanship, and facts and data are not the main drivers of decision making.