How to Better Cascade Corporate Strategy
In nature, a cascade is a small, steep waterfall that flows in a descending manner from the top to the bottom, from high to low. In business we use the verb “cascading” when we talk about communicating and embedding a corporate strategy throughout the organization — often after a successful strategy retreat.
Effective Strategy Cascading Creates Alignment, Accountability, and Meaning
This communication and implementation process occurs in a series of reactions in which one causes another — in which every division, department, and individual is aligned around the overall strategic plan and the important part they play in making it a success. One move flows into another — but not always in a top-down direction.
Strategic Clarity Starts at the Top
Our organizational alignment research found strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performing companies in terms of revenue growth, profitability, customer loyalty, employee engagement, and leadership effectiveness.
Once your business strategy has been fully understood and committed to as a leadership team, you should begin the hard work of strategy cascading and strategy execution. At a minimum, you need to be satisfied that the strategy you’ve created is both crystal clear and aligned across six areas:
Cascading Your Strategy
Once your strategy is clear, believable, and implementable enough at the executive team level, you can begin the process of cascading the strategic plan so that it can be understood and successfully executed.
3 Steps to Better Cascade Your Corporate Strategy
Here are three tips on how to better cascade your corporate strategy from the board room to those employees whose day-to-day work will be informed by that strategy.
In flatter organizations, you need the active involvement, input, and buy-in from all key stakeholders for the overall strategy to be consistently executed across the company. Be clear on the parts of the strategy that are mandated, guided, or autonomous at the overall, department, team, and individual levels so people know where they are empowered to make it their own.
Establish consequences for poor work performance, adjust goals as necessary, celebrate progress, and reward success. Only if you hold everyone accountable for delivery against the plan will you be able to achieve it.
The Bottom Line
Well executed strategies start with strategic clarity at the top and are supported by heavily investing in cascading strategies, goals, metrics and accountability across the company. Your strategy must go through your people and your workplace culture to get fully implemented — so invest the time it takes to cascade it effectively.
To learn if you are ready to cascade corporate strategy across your organization, download The Top 7 Ways to Stress Test Your Strategic Clarity
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