This column is about the relationship between strategy and execution. Many business leaders and entrepreneurs are successful because of their visionary thinking and strategic acumen. They recognize opportunities in the marketplace and develop strategies to seize upon those opportunities.
These same strategists are often not very strong when it comes to execution. Rather, they build teams, processes and procedures to address the day-to-day operations of the business. Through the organization the strategy gets executed.
Essential for the operational success of a business is a change agent. A change agent is the strategist’s alter ego. They are the one responsible for implementing the great idea. Change agents are named such because their day-to-day responsibility is to profitably facilitate change. Operational status quo means someone is passing you by. Great operational leaders implement strategies in profitable ways, making profitable alterations dictated by customers, competitors, and the ever changing responsive strategies.
Strategy can be either appropriate or inappropriate. Execution can be either good or bad. A successful relationship between strategy and execution means that both the strategist and the change agent are in place, and the strategy is appropriate and the execution is good. When mismatches occur you have a formula for problems and decisions can be tough.
Â
Balance
If the strategy is appropriate but the execution is poor, trouble can result. Poor execution hampers a good strategy, and management cannot assess the adequacy of a strategy if the ability to implement it is poor.
On the flip side, if the strategy is inappropriate, but the execution is good, you are gambling at this point. Good execution can mitigate poor strategy, producing some level of success. Or, good execution can accelerate a poor strategy, hastening failure.
When faced with a mismatch and the need to modify something, look first to implementation problems and fix them. Rely on the change agent and your operations people to identify any implementation problems distinct from strategic problems. Make sure the execution is solid.
Once you’re confident that processes and procedures are as they should be, you can clearly assess the strength of the strategy. It is at these moments that the value of a strong operations person really rises to the surface. Without them, you can never know if the strategy is sound. With solid execution, you can clearly assess the strength of the strategy.
Â
Finding Fault
A strong operations person is also invaluable in determining where there may be faults in a strategy. Through day-to-day operations you glean customer feedback, market information, and competitive intelligence. With this type of intelligence leaders can analyze all aspects of a strategy. They can determine where faults lie and take corrective action in a timely manner. Again, the good change agent facilitates profitable change.
The final scenario in the relationship between strategy and execution is when the strategy is inappropriate and the execution is poor. At this point you’ve got a big failure on your hands. Just drop it. Good operational data brings this scenario to light quickly.
If you consider yourself a strategic business leader, be sure you have a good change agent; an operational right-hand person who accelerates great ideas, helps identify and fix faulty ideas, and can quickly assess the bad ideas and stop them in their tracks.
Â
Ken Cook is managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors, an organization that facilitates business leaders helping each other. You can reach him at kcook@peertopeeradvisors.com.
