Corporate Strategy Can Fail
How many times have you seen a new and exciting strategic plan be forgotten within a few quarters? How many times have you left a strategy retreat with optimism for great things to come only to find that the strategies never consistently cascaded throughout the organization? How many times have internal and external expectations been raised by inspiring new strategic directions only to be left in the planning stages due to a lack of commitment and follow-through?
No One Wants Their Corporate Strategy To Fail
When we work with executives to create clear strategies that are believable and implementable, the strategy itself is rarely to blame for a lack of success. For the most part, the market research is rigorous enough and the strategic plans are sound enough. The failure lies in the process of strategy execution.
The Four Big Ways Your Corporate Strategy Can Fail
Here are the top four reasons we have found that a strategic business plan falls short:
Make sure you have backing from the executive team, middle management, and workers on the line. The entire company must be willing to commit the time, effort, and resources needed to accomplish the strategic plan.
While collaboration and delegation is encouraged and often required, make sure that you have one executive team member accountable for making each strategy a success. Keep the overall team accountable for delivering on schedule and maintaining progress toward your key strategic promises. The strategy is your plan for success. Don’t lose momentum; stay on track.
The Bottom Line
Your corporate strategy can fail. But is does not have to. Strategy execution is a pretty simple concept. Gain support through clarity and involvement, define action steps, stay focused, monitor progress, and tweak as necessary. Follow these four tips for strategy success.
To learn more about keeping your corporate strategy from failing, download What to Do After Your Strategy Retreat to Make it Happen
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