business strategy

“90% OF ORGANIZATIONS FAIL TO EXECUTE THEIR STRATEGIES SUCCESSFULLY.” Kaplan & Norton

A frightening statistic!  Yet we have been trained that without a strategic plan a company is doomed for failure.

“STRATEGIC PLANNING AT A POINT IN TIME DOUBLES THE LIKELIHOOD OF SURVIVAL AS A CORPORATE ENTITY.” Noel Capon, James M. Hurlburt, Columbia University

So then, if companies can get the implementation right then the failure rate will go down and the survival rates will go up. Sounds like a plan (pardon the pun) but let’s really get to the root of the problem if we can.

I am sure you have heard of Murphy’s Law, Moore’s law and other similar laws which are based on relationships or concept translated through ratios. Well, here is one for you it’s called …

“Blanchard’s Law”, why not, and it relates to the key factors necessary for successful strategy implementation.

Here’s it is:

An organization’s success at strategy implementation =  

 The organization’s ability to effectively mobilize its resources and focus on strategy/ The organization’s ability to reduce the resistance in achieving buy-in and accountability

This means that the implementation of an organization’s business strategy (direction) is equal to the ability to mobilize the people, processes, systems and technology in an organization (power), divided by the organization’s ability to achieve buy-in, discipline and focus on the implementation of the strategic plan (resistance reduction).

What does this mean?

If an organization has the ability to actively mobilize all of its resources at 100 units and yet is held back by resistance to implementation by a factor of 10 units the resulting quotient or outcome is 10. In other words, if the level of resistance goes up the ability of the organization to implement strategy goes down. In this case, the organization is relegated to the lowest common denominator of strategy implementation of 10 units.

However, if the same 100 resource units faces a resistance factor of 2 the result is a 50 unit implementation factor. Thus, if the level of resistance goes down then the effectiveness of strategy implementation goes up.

The take away, reducing resistance is the key.

Simple huh, but why is it so difficult to address. I mean if an organization can reduce the level of resistance in the way it implements strategy the greater will be its productivity – why just do it.

The big question is how can this be done?

According to a study conducted by Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE), it determined there are clear patterns that emerge in successful strategy implementation efforts.

They observed three common-sense tests:

A. Manage to results milestones;

B. Explicitly addressed the people issues within the organization relative to strategy execution, and;

C. Resource properly, not just with money.

The CSAE also found that even the soundest strategies failed to achieve their performance objectives because one of these tests was flunked.

So getting all three tests right is important.

And getting them all right is a tall order if an organization relies on 20^th century tools for implementation. How can an organization expect to win at strategy implementation using memos, presentations, occasional plenary workshops and performance compensation plans?

These are tools that can be a good start, but we are now in the 21^st Century and powerful, integrative digital tools are now at our disposal. These tools can help to define outcomes, measure and then track strategy as it is implemented.

Using technology for strategy implementation is not just a one-time thing; but an integrative effort to instantly get at the underbelly of how strategy can be managed in an organization.  Not only vertically and across an organization’s structure but to penetrate the very DNA of its culture as well.

I recently encountered a company called Envisio. They have spent the time and money to answer the 21^st century call for a technology to help with strategy implementation. Envisio’s cloud based software can reduce the factors that create resistance holding an organization back. It gets at the very problems of implementation and allows for the revitalization of the strategic planning process as well.

Here are the key points in reducing resistance that makes the Envisio software so unique:

ACTIONABLE

Envisio provides a structured approach in creating and translating strategic plans into individual and team activities with measures. This way the organization can pinpoint resistance points and shore them up to improve implementation outcomes.

CLEAR

Everyone within the organization is assigned a role and responsibility to bring the strategic plan to life. It means that people become strategic thinkers making their contributions meaningful and accountable toward a common purpose. There is no room for ambiguity.

IN CONTEXT

Dashboards provide a view of individual activities and measurement that connect them to the plan. This allows the people in the organization to understand how they fit into the strategic plan and how they can reach strategic objectives.

DYNAMIC

Plan updates are automatically recorded and communicated to teams and individuals. Strategy implementation means all hands on deck working together in making things happen.

MANAGEABLE

Intuitive reporting revolutionizes management’s ability to track progress against the strategic plan and make adjustments when circumstances dictate. Remember there is no such thing as a perfect strategy so managing strategy under fire ensures management has its finger on the pulse.

I invite you to check out Envisio’s website to learn more about their technology and the unique opportunities it provides organizations. Envisio developed, markets and supports an easy-to-implement web-based strategy implementation software that flows from an organization’s strategic plan. I encourage you to visit – http://www.envisio.com/ for more information.

Innovation is about more than making giant, well-publicized leaps. It’s about striving for continuous incremental innovation to improve your offerings and keep on top of changes in your industry – and plenty of entrepreneurs could be doing this better.

Particularly in Canada, entrepreneurs have a problem making innovation pay. Research at Canadian universities tripled from $1.7 billion in 1999 to $5.5 billion in 2008, but revenues earned from their patents were significantly lower than what was earned by their European and American counterparts. The developers of these technologies are having trouble bringing their solution to market.

Established corporations can also face an innovation gap that is only partly explained by complacency. Some examples include Kodak, RIM and Xerox:

• Kodak had built up a multi-billion dollar company with a global brand years before digital photography came on to the market, sticking with film. It’s Japanese competitors saw where the market was headed. Today, Kodak has filed for bankruptcy.
• RIM’s meteoric rise was stunning, seeing the mobile business platform pioneer go from nothing to $10 billion in revenues after just 15 years. But Apple and Google-based smartphones were nipping at its heels. Despite its lead, RIM failed to match the browser experience or touchscreen capabilities of its competitors and its share price has dwindled to a small fraction of what it was.
• Xerox PARC was he innovation heart for its company, developing a mouse and user interface integration that was revolutionary for its time. Xerox didn’t know what they had, but Steve Jobs of Apple did, running with the innovation in Apple’s own Macintosh product. At this point, it’s impossible to say precisely how much revenue Xerox has given up over the years from this blunder, but it’s safe to say that it was a lot.

Innovating is hard, but recognizing a truly innovative technology for what it is and selling it is a common entrepreneurial challenge. Sometimes, the problem is packaging; entrepreneurs don’t know how to sell what they’ve got. Other entrepreneurs struggle with putting together a business plan around a technology. As we’ve seen, it’s not a problem confined to new business startups; but ideally, entrepreneurs who understand how to capitalize on innovation when starting out can instill that vision in their team as the company grows.