The old adage “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there” reminds us that action without direction can be a fruitless endeavor. Without a plan, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to achieve our goals within a given timeframe. This is why the most successful leaders create roadmaps that clearly explain the fundamentals of their strategy: why their organizations exist; the core values that define their organizations’ culture; the major goals their organizations are striving to achieve; and, how their organizations are going to achieve their goals. Well-articulated roadmaps drive organizational engagement and productivity and motivate organizations to execute their strategies with minimal guidance and direction. Organizations that execute their strategies with minimal guidance and direction are much more likely to achieve their goals in a timely manner and grow faster.
The most successful leaders also recognize that markets and competition are not static. They are dynamic. With this insight, they implement strategy execution processes that help them continually assess, and modify as needed, their strategies and drive continual innovation, improvement and value creation.
Like the strategic planning process, the strategy execution process should be owned and driven by the top leaders of organizations. They are responsible for making sure:
- Their strategic roadmaps are clear and compelling.
- Their organizations understand that:
- Strategy execution is a process.
- The roadmaps are tactical tools, not strategic fluff.
- Strategy execution is everyone’s job.
- Individual and collective contributions drive the execution of the strategy.
The strategy execution process starts with leadership alignment and commitment. To successfully execute their strategies, the top leaders must be aligned on and committed to:
- The strategic roadmaps they create.
- A meeting rhythm that brings them together on a regular basis to drive strategy execution.
- Leveraging their project management skills, experiences and insights to drive innovation, improvement and value creation.
- Operating as cohesive teams that trust each other and hold one another accountable to their commitments.
In addition to alignment and commitment, the top leaders need proven tools and methodologies to help them successfully execute their strategies. Following are the key tools and methodologies that Trinitas Advisors provides the leaders we serve:
- One Page Operating Strategy (OPOS)
- Clients use our interactive One Page Operating Strategy tool to create their strategic roadmaps and drive organizational engagement and productivity.
- Leadership Meeting Rhythm
- Given the dynamics of the markets they serve and the pace they want to grow, clients embrace a metrics, priorities and agenda driven meeting rhythm that brings the top leaders together on weekly, monthly, monthly and annual basis to execute their strategies. This methodology helps them spend more time working on their businesses and collectively drive their organizations forward.
- Project Management Tool
- Clients use our interactive project management tool to drive the completion of their innovation, improvement and value creation projects. The tool helps clients get aligned on why their projects are projects, the results the projects are expected to deliver and the resources that are needed to complete the projects.
- Cohesive Teamwork
- Clients understand that dysfunctional teamwork slows strategy execution down and cohesive teamwork speeds strategy execution up. Given this reality, they establish trust-based teamwork, turning people issues into process issues and holding one another accountable to their commitments as an operating norm.
In summary, leaders who create clear and compelling strategies and execute those strategies in a process driven manner are much more likely to achieve their goals faster and accelerate the growth of their organizations.
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Chris Edwards
Partner & Advisor
Chris Edwards is a partner with Trinitas Advisors, an executive coaching firm that helps business leaders build the leadership alignment they need to win more, grow faster and succeed longer. Chris can be reached at chris@trinitasadvisors.com.