If strategy is deciding what to do, execution is all about making it happen. It’s the follow through.
The main requirements for successful execution are:
- clear goals for everyone in the organization, that are supportive of the overall strategy;
- a means of measuring progress toward those goals on a regular basis; and
- clear accountability for that progress. Those are the basics.
You don’t have to be a management expert to diagnose whether an organization has a strong culture of execution. It’s usually obvious. Just sit through a couple of top management meetings, and you’ll quickly get the idea.
Strategy execution takes longer, involves more people, demands the consideration and integration of many key variables or activities, and requires an effective feedback or control system to keep a needed focus on the process of execution over time. The strategic planning stage is usually more concentrated and of shorter duration than the execution stage.
Failure to see and appreciate the interdependence or interaction among key factors — strategy, structure, incentives, controls, coordination, culture, change, etc. — is a costly mistake that detracts from strategy-execution success
Responsibility and accountability for decisions and actions must be clear and agreed upon, with areas of overlapping responsibility and need for cooperation laid out and committed to by key personnel.
It is important to design, reward and otherwise support the right behaviors, those that are vital to making strategy work, in order to create and nurture a culture of execution.
References:
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/08/08/how-to-execute-a-new-business-strategy-successfully/
http://guides.wsj.com/management/execution/what-are-the-keys-to-good-execution/
