This document outlines an organizational training program on enhancing strategic execution culture. The program aims to help participants understand strategic execution concepts, learn the key pillars of effective strategic execution, and acquire techniques to improve transforming strategies into actions. The key pillars of execution discussed are alignment, architecture/governance, ability, agility, and atmosphere. The training will explore why execution matters, what execution is, and causes of strategy-execution failure. Participants will develop an action plan to assess their organization's strengths and areas for improvement in strategic execution.

2. ENHANCING OUR
STRATEGIC
EXECUTION
CULTURE
(EOSEC)

3. Knowing each other: Speedboat
Your 2 major
organization
goals
Two major qualities
you need to meet your
goals
3

4. YOUR EXPECTATIONS

5. Our objectives
By the end of this programme, you will be able to:
01
02
03
04
Understand concepts of strategic execution
Learn the key pillars of effective strategic execution
Acquire techniques on how strategic execution can be
improved
Transform strategies into actions within a dynamic environment
5

6. Learning alliance
Thirst for better
execution
Fun
Challenge
Investment
Trust
Focus
Action Oriented
6

7. Our flight plan
Key pillars of execution and their
improvement techniques (5As):
 Alignment
 Architecture/Governance
 Ability
 Agility
 Atmosphere
Key Pillars of Effective
Strategic Execution
 Why execution matters?
 What is execution?
 What are the causes of
strategy-execution failure?
Understanding
Strategic Execution
Way Forward
 Workshop and action plan
o What we are doing well?
o What can we improve?
o How can we improve?
7

8. Our flight plan
Key pillars of execution and their
improvement techniques:
 Alignment
 Architecture/Governance
 Ability
 Agility
 Atmosphere
Key Pillars of Effective
Strategic Execution
 Why execution matters?
 What is execution?
 What are the causes of
strategy-execution failure?
Understanding
Strategic Execution
Way Forward
 Workshop and action plan
o What we are doing well?
o What can we improve?
o How can we improve?
8

9. 9

10. The gap nobody knows
 What is the problem?
 What is wrong with this CEO?
 I got the group together
 Two off-site meetings
 Did benchmarking
 Got the metrics
 Good plan
 I assigned stretched goals
 Everybody agreed with the plan
 Market was good
 I empowered the team
 In the end, we missed the goals
10

11. Why execution matters?
No matter how great your idea
is, if you can’t execute it,
you’re not different from
someone without an idea
Resources are wasted
when firms fail to execute
or execute poorly
11

12. Why execution matters?.......
Which quadrant is more important and why?
Source: Dick Ruhe (PhD) is a best-selling author and senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies
Succeed fast
Focus on next strategic opportunity
(4%)
Fail fast
Chance of self correcting with great
execution of an improved strategy
Revise strategy quickly and start
over
(13%)
Slow death
Cannot determine what is working/
not working
(8%)
Missed Opportunity
Cannot validate if strategy is good
or should be reformulated
(74%)
Poor
Great
STRATEGIC EXECUTION
STRATEGIC
PLAN
Poor Efficient
1 2
4
3
12

13. Why execution matters?........

14. Why execution matters?........
Major goals of LEAD GROWTH STRATEGY 2025
1. Increase Customer
Satisfaction
2. Retain Larger Market
Value Share And Market
Share
4. Reduce Operational
Expenses
5. Increase
Profit Margin
3. Increase
Efficiency

15. Why execution matters?.....
To be Preferred Operator
In the face of ever-growing customer demand, quickly
changing business environment and upcoming
competitive market, the major aspiration of Ethio
telecom is
STRATEGY ASPIRATION
15

16. Exercise: Cooking pizza for lunch
Individually, read the case from your booklet and discuss in
groups of five to identify the following key terms from the case:
 Mission
 Vision
 Strategies
 Tactics and
 Execution
Keep your distance and stay safe!
BLP - 7
16

17. Understanding execution: Strategy management process
Why we exist? Defines the reason for being? Provide reliable
communication & digital financial services to simplify services and
accelerate digital transformation of Ethiopian
Where are we now? Situational analysis. SWOT
 Leading effectively to get important things done
 Translating strategies, tactics into actions on a daily basis
Assess options and choose the best strategies. Lead growth strategy
Where are we going? What do we aspire to achieve?
To be a leading digital solutions provider
Performance measure
Execution/Implementation
Tactics
Generate, evaluate and
choose strategies
Objectives
Values
Vision
Mission
Environmental scanning
How do we know we are there? Set indicators of success
Customer satisfaction index, profitability
How will we behave? What we believe in? Ethics, principles…
Human centric, integrity, Excellence, togatherness, ….
What specific methods, tools, and techniques you’ll use to accomplish
your strategy
17
Something you want to accomplish within a specific
time frame: Increase Profit margine, increase
customer satisfaction, increase effecincy

18. Understanding execution
Execution is the major job of
the business leader
Execution must be a
core element of an
organization’s culture
1
2
3
Execution is a discipline,
and essential to strategy
To understand execution, you have to keep three key points in mind
18

19. Causes of strategy-execution failure?
When strategy is not
every one’s job!
Silos or units with
competing agendas 19

20. Causes of strategy-execution failure?
,
Bold but unrealistic plan
Everyone too busy;
lack of time;
resource constraint
20

21. Causes of strategy-execution failure?
,
More time in
designing strategy
than thinking how to
execute
21
Too focused on short term results

22. Causes of strategy-execution failure?
Leadership action
inconsistent with strategy
Management barrier
22
Executives are less skilled and less knowledgeable in the art & science of strategy execution
. Managers are trained to plan, not execute.

23. Reflection: How do you see
Ethio Telecom execution
culture?

25. Our flight plan
Key pillars of execution and their
improvement techniques:
 Alignment
 Architecture/Governance
 Ability
 Agility
 Atmosphere
Key Pillars of Effective
Strategic Execution
 Why execution matters?
 What is execution?
 What are the causes of
strategy-execution failure?
Understanding
Strategic Execution
Way Forward
 Workshop and action plan
o What we are doing well?
o What can we improve?
o How can we improve?
25

26. Exercise: Pillars of effective execution
15’
Keep your distance and stay safe!
Individually,
List 5 key elements that are important for you to
effectively execute strategies, projects, and
operations… one idea on a post it (5’)
In 5 groups,
1. Discuss and select top 5 key elements that are
important for you to effectively execute strategy,
project…
2. Spokes person presents to the class
3. The class votes top five from the list BLP - 10
26

27. Key Pillars of effective execution
 Will and Skill
development
 Right people in the
right place
 Strategy clarification
 Create an execution plan-
schedules, budgets
 Accountability &
expectation
 Execute & Measure your
progress
 Structure
 Processes
 System
 Resource
 Agility
 Agile decision
 Driving result
Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives
Alignment Architecture Ability Agility/ Drive
Atmosphere/ Environment / Climate
Collaboration Empowerment Trust
Build engagement Lead by example
Feedback & continuous
improvement
27

28. Alignment
 Will and Skill
development
 Right people in the
right place
 Strategy clarification
 Create an execution plan-
schedules, budgets
 Accountability &
expectation
 Execute & Measure your
progress
 Structure
 Processes
 System
 Resource
 Agility
 Agile decision
 Driving result
Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives
Alignment Architecture Ability Agility/ Drive
Atmosphere/ Environment / Climate
Collaboration Empowerment Trust
Build engagement Lead by example
Feedback & continuous
improvement
28

29. Reflection - Alignment
 When do we say there is alignment in an
organization?
 What major factors affect alignment in an
organization?
 How do you link alignment with execution?
 How can we improve alignment?
29
BLP - 12

30. When do we say there is alignment in an organization?
When
 The company objectives and efforts are aligned to achieve the
company’s purpose
 Departments and individual contributors are working towards the
company goals
 Work units objectives are aligned with each other
 Each employee behavior is a good core value fit
Tuning people, process, structure, operations, resource commitment, etc. to
support the execution of a given strategy
30

31. Alignment
Mission,
Vision,
Values
4)
Execute
&
Measure
your
progress
1) Strategy Clarification
(Start with Why)
3) Set Accountability &
expectations
Show the purpose
Show objectives &
way to implement
 Roles
 Measurements (KPIs)
 Consequences
Monitor progress
How do you improve
alignment?
Adapted from Scott A. Snell-The 4 A’s of Strategic Execution: 31

32. Alignment
1. Clarify Strategy
TELL
 Start with “Why’’
 Build collective ambition and aspiration
TEACH
 Mentor
 Keep them updated on how the organization is evolving
 Show how their work matter
TRAIN
 Consistently educate your team members
Vision
Mission
Finance
Increase
Profitability
Grow
Revenue
Improve
Customer
Satisfaction
Increase
Subscriber
Customer
Internal
process
Improve Talent &
Knowledge
Management
Enhance
Organizational
Culture
Learning
& Growth
Improve
Stakeholder
Management
Improve
Productivity &
Efficiency
Improve
Service
Accessibility
32

33. Alignment
2. Create an execution plan
 Define/Redefine SMART
goals and objectives in line
with corporate objectives
 Visualize your strategy and
execution
 Specify your focus
 Use a collaborative planning
process
 Align plans across work units/
departments
 Get input from team members on
what to start-stop-keep
 Set detail execution plan: Details
on budgets, accountability,
sequence, scope, dates for
accomplishment of key milestones,
reporting process,…
33

34. Alignment
Common
purpose
Clear goals/
Expectations
Discuss the
importance
Connect to the
WHY
‘’Why does this
matter?”
Collaboration
Clarity
Expectation
Together
Get clear about
WHO and WHAT
‘’What does
success look
like?’’
Focus & align
everyone
involved
Communicate
HOW
‘’How are we
going to achieve
success.’’
Collaborate &
Adjust As
Needed
Monitor progress
& COACH
‘’Are we on track,
what adjustment
are needed?.’’
Make Results &
Consequence
Visible
Assess the
RESULT
“How did we do,
& what is the
reward?
Communicate
& Align
Consequences
3. Set Accountability and expectations
How do you build team accountability?
34

35. 4. Execute & measure your progress
 Act on the Lead Measure
 Keep a compelling scoreboard
o Choose a theme
 trend lines, speedometer, bar chart, Andon, personalized
o Design the scoreboard:
 Is it simple?
 Can the team see it easily?
 Does it contain both lead and lag measures?
o Build the scoreboard: involvement creates ownership
o Keep It updated: how often is updated, who is responsible for what
 Set red - yellow - green to clarify expectations
Alignment
The 4 Disciplines of Execution 35

36. Architecture/Governance
 Will and Skill
development
 Right people in the
right place
 Strategy clarification
 Create an execution plan-
schedules, budgets
 Accountability &
expectation
 Execute & Measure your
progress
 Structure
 Processes
 System
 Resource
 Agility
 Agile decision
 Driving result
Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives
Alignment Architecture Ability Agility/ Drive
Atmosphere/ Environment / Climate
Collaboration Empowerment Trust
Build engagement Lead by example
Feedback & continuous
improvement
38

37. Exercise: Drawing a pig
Individually,
Draw a pig
Rule of the game
 No communication
 No sharing
Keep your distance and stay safe!
15’
39
BLP - 17

38. Debriefing question
 What do you see? Does this look like a pig?
 Why is so different?
 What helped you to draw this way?
 What was the challenge to draw this way?
 What are the main advantages of having
frame/standardization?
 What lessons did you get from the exercise in connection
to execution?
40

39. Architecture/ Governance
 Policy guidelines, frames, process and boundaries
 Gives decision-makers the information necessary for
making good decisions
 A means to overcoming bureaucratic hurdles and
barriers to performance
 Governance or decision rights is the execution
roadmap
“We create our buildings and then they create us. "The same is true of organizational architecture.”
Frank Lloyd Wright once said
“A bad system will beat a good person every time.” W. Edwards Deming
Don’t work hard, work intelligent
41

40. Ways to improve Architecture/ Governance
Simplified Structure
 Delineate lines of roles,
responsibilities & authority
 Improve channels of
communication
 Key driver of customer value
Streamlined Processes
 Make your operating model
clear
 Identify the underlying
processes, systems, skills
and structures
Information System Access/ Utilization
 Make information accessible and knowledge shared
 Make Information systems enable decision
Do we have the appropriate: Structure, Processes, Systems?
42

41. 43

42. Ability
 Will and Skill
development
 Right people in the
right place
 Strategy clarification
 Create an execution plan-
schedules, budgets
 Accountability &
expectation
 Execute & Measure your
progress
 Structure
 Processes
 System
 Agility
 Agile decision
 Driving result
Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives
Alignment Architecture Ability Agility/ Drive
Atmosphere/ Environment / Climate
Collaboration Empowerment Trust
Build engagement Lead by example
Feedback & continuous
improvement
44

43. Understanding the competence of your team members
Self
Confidence
Motivation
Willing
Knowledge Able
Skill
Skill: Natural talents with
the task, experience,
training, understanding how
Will: Desire to achieve,
motive to do task,
confidence in abilities,
understand why…
How do you know your team members competence?
45

44. Exercise: The Will-Skill of my team
Individually (3’)
 Describe your team members’ Will & Skill (consider 5-10
members).
 Decide where to position them in the map considering
their Will-Skill in terms of their goal execution
 Put them in their respective quadrant
Will
_
+
+
_
Skill
In 4 groups (10’)
As leaders,
 First, reason out the expected root cause for being in
respective quadrat, e.g why did some one being under
low will and low skill?
 Second, Put concrete developmental action plan for
each quadrant
 What can you do move individuals from where they are
now to a better will and skill?
Share in Plenary (3 minutes each)
46
BLP - 20

45. Understanding the competence of your team and your role
Blanchard’s four basic leadership style
 Be clear on expected outcomes (goals),
time
 Give challenging responsibility &
authority
 Provide freedom
 Involve in decision-making
 Ask for check-ins at key milestones
 Recognize
 Promotable
Delegation based on high level of trust
 Discuss why the task is important &
he/she is best choice
 Acknowledge skills
 Discuss what would motivate him/her
 Give Challenging responsibility &
authority
 Praise and reward for success
Emphasize relationship more than
task
 Use tasks as a learning opportunities
 Provide required training
 Accept early mistakes
 Assign pieces of tasks they can do
 Structure tasks to minimize possible
risks
 Frequent feedback & check-ins with
relaxed control
 Praise and reward for success
Build relationship & task together
 Agree on what is possible
 Set clear rules, methods, deadlines
 Check for understanding
 Assign specific pieces of tasks
employee can do
 Structure tasks for quick wins
 Provide required training, feedback
 Frequent check-ins
 If not job change
Task more than relations
Direct
Motivate/
Coach
Delegate
Guide/
Engage
High Skill
Low Skill
High Will
Low Will
47

46. Are the right people in the right jobs? If not, why?
 Lack of knowledge
o Leaders may not know enough about the people they’re
appointing
 Lack of courage
o Lacks courage to discriminate between strong and weak
performers and take the necessary actions
 The psychological comfort factor
o They may pick people with whom they’re comfortable,
rather than others who have better skills for the job
 Bottom Line: Lack of personal commitment
49

47. What attributes do you look for?
YUVAL NOAH HARARI (2018): 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Collaboration
Communication
Creativity
Critical
Thinking
The
4C
Attributes
50

48. How to get the right people?
 Redefine Interview question to hire for attitudes
 Exam/business case to check capability to do specific job
 Personality test to understand preferences, emotions and
communications
 Cognitive test to check problem solving capabilities
 Look for a strong culture fit
 Hire Sllllooooooowwwwly
 Ask for references
51

49. Experience of Southwest Airline
Hiring not for skills but three attributes:
o A Warrior spirit: A desire to excel, act with courage, persevere
and innovate
o A servant heart: The ability to put others first, treat everyone
with respect and proactively serve customers
o A fun-loving attitude: passion, joy, and an aversion to taking
oneself too seriously
To determine someone’s ability to be a passionate team player,
o Ask one to describe a time when he/she went above and
beyond to help a co-worker succeed
o Career motivation interview to determine if the candidate really
understands the job he or she is applying for and if it is aligned
with his/her career goals
o Employees are measured not just on results but on how they get
results
We hire for attitude and train for skill
52

50. Agility
 Will and Skill
development
 Right people in the
right place
 Strategy clarification
 Create an execution plan-
schedules, budgets
 Accountability &
expectation
 Execute & Measure your
progress
 Structure
 Processes
 System
 Resource
 Agility
 Agile decision
 Driving result
Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives
Alignment Architecture Ability Agility/ Drive
Atmosphere/ Environment / Climate
Collaboration Empowerment Trust
Build engagement Lead by example
Feedback & continuous
improvement
54

51. Exercise: Coin Game
56
In group of 10;
4 People employees, 4 People Managers,1 Person Observer and 1 Person Customer, class
facilitator will brief their roles.
Rule of the game; 10 coins to the first “worker” with all of the coins facing heads side up
worker can only use one hand to flip all of the coins over. They pass the coins to the next
worker, who flips them the other way using one hand. The final worker flips the coins over and
passes them to the customer.
1. How did you feel about the game?
2. How do you connect the game with agility and to
execution?
3. What is agility?
4. Why is Agility difficult to achieve?
20’
BLP - 25

52. Agility
What is agility?
 Flexibility, adaptability, responsiveness and
speed
Why is Agility difficult to achieve?
 Moving fast without losing stability
 Moving quickly and confidently in response to
environment and strategy
58

53. Agile or die
Strategic
Agility
sources: AltexSoft Technology Consulting Company, 2020
Organizational
Agility
Can you spot an opportunity and
assess its potential value before
the competition?
Can you quickly adapt your business
to emerging market challenges?
How flexible the company is?
Can you quickly deliver
measurable results?
Levels of adapting Agility
Operational
Agility
59

54. Classical Vs Agile team
CLASSICAL
 Top-down structure
 Individual responsibilities
 Little interaction
AGILE
 Self-organizing
 Cross functional
 Knowledge-sharing
 Personal responsibility for outcome
 Leaders as part of the team
60

55. How can we be agile
 Focus on your customer
 Convenient point of contact
 Continuous improvement
 Resource flexibility
 Share info. Internally
 Open to the outside
 Experiment continuously
 Empower members
 Distribute decision-making
 Make Ethio telecom ready
for change
 Identify key levers to
mobilize change
 Identify core capabilities
1.
Develop
situational
awareness
2.
Empower
organizational
learning
3.
Leadership
unity
4.
Build dynamic
capability
 Distributed knowledge:
transactive memory
 Conflicting view: vigorous
debate
 Focus on patient/customer:
strong team identity
(E.g. Physicians work in unity to
save their patient)
Adapted from Scott A. Snell: 4A model 61

56. Agile Decision Making: SPEED
Stop long enough
to gather the
intelligence you
need to get a
handle on the
issue
Ponder/consider
what the issue
means for your
team.
If it won’t affect
you at all, stop
here
Educate yourself
on the issue as
quickly as
possible if it does
have an impact
or consequences
Evaluate what
you’ve learned
Decide your
best course of
action and
implement it
without delay
Laura Stack (2014 ) - Execution is the strategy 62

58. Atmosphere/ Environment/ Climate
 Will and Skill
development
 Right people in the
right place
 Strategy clarification
 Create an execution plan-
schedules, budgets
 Accountability &
expectation
 Execute & Measure your
progress
 Structure
 Processes
 System
 Agility
 Agile decision
 Driving result
Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives
Alignment Architecture Ability Agility/ Drive
Atmosphere/ Environment / Climate
Collaboration Empowerment Trust
Build engagement Lead by example
Feedback & continuous
improvement
64

59. Exercise: The Climate
In four groups,
You are assigned in a critical project. The success of
this project is majorly determined by the extent of
conducive atmosphere you create for your team
members
 Hence what are the most conducive
atmosphere/climates for your team to effectively
execute the project?
Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
65
BLP - 30
20’

60. Atmosphere/ Culture
 Workplace culture largely depends on the unwritten
ground rules and the attitudes of the members of that
culture
 you can’t just say you want your culture to be agile,
accountable, and top-quality, and then expect it to
happen
 What matters most is the synergistic combination of
attitude and action in the workplace
 Organizational culture, behavior, image; leadership
or management style
66

61. How to improve Atmosphere/ Culture at workplace
Build engagement
Lead by example
Encourage collaborative
atmosphere
Maintain climate of
trust and mutual help
Empowerment and
freedom
Accountability & Recognition
Feedback and
continuous
improvement
67

62. Our flight plan
Key pillars of execution and
their improvement techniques
 Alignment
 Architecture/Governance
 Ability
 Agile mindset
 Atmosphere
Key Pillars of Effective
Strategic Execution
 Why execution matters?
 What is execution?
 What are the causes of
strategy-execution failures?
Understanding
Strategic Execution
Way Forward
 Workshop and action plan
o What we are doing well?
o What can we improve?
o How can we improve?
68

63. Exercise: Assessment of Execution at Ethio telecom
20’
What are we doing well?
What could we do better?
How do we improve?
In Five groups,
1. Alignment
2. Architecture or Governance
3. Ability
4. Agility/ Driving results
5. Atmosphere or Culture
69
BLP - 32

64.  Will and Skill
development
 Right people in the
right place
Summary of Execution Pillars (The 5As)
 Strategy clarification
 Create an execution plan-
schedules, budgets
 Accountability &
expectation
 Execute & Measure your
progress
 Structure
 Processes
 System
 Resource
 Agility
 Agile decision
 Driving result
Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives
Alignment Architecture Ability Agility/ Drive
Atmosphere/ Environment / Climate
Collaboration Empowerment Trust
Build engagement Lead by example
Feedback & continuous
improvement
70

65. Action plan and sharing your commitment
What is your action plan on the key pillars of Execution?
Key pillars Action When?
Alignment
Architecture or
Governance
Ability
Agility/ Driving results
Atmosphere or Culture
BLP - 33

67. How google knows if someone is a great leader
After years of study, Google uses a few simple questions to identify the company's best leaders.
on a scale of 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).
Here are Google's leadership evaluation questions:
1.My manager gives me actionable feedback that helps me improve my performance.
2.My manager does not "micromanage" (get involved in detail that should be handled at other levels).
3.My manager shows consideration for me as a person.
4.The actions of my manager show that he/she values the perspective I bring to the team, even if it is different from
his/her own.
5.My manager keeps the team focused on our priority results/deliverables.
6.My manager regularly shares relevant information from his/her manager and senior leaders.
7.My manager has had a meaningful discussion with me about career development in the past six months.
8.My manager communicates clear goals for our team.
9.My manager has the technical expertise (e.g., coding in Tech, selling in Global Business, accounting in Finance)
required to effectively manage me.
10.I would recommend my manager to other Googlers.
11.I am satisfied with my manager's overall performance as a manager.
Then Google employees are asked to complete two other questions:
12. What would you recommend your manager keep doing?
13. What would you have your manager change?
73

68. Apple and Nokia’s strategy execution experience
Starting from the late 90’s to the early 2000’s, Nokia was the
leading mobile phone Brand.
Five years before the launch of the iPhone, Nokia was ready to
launch its own touch operated, internet-connected device with a
large display. They knew where the mobile phone market was
headed and they had a strategy to dominate that market, yet they
were unable to maintain their dominant market position.
When Apple released their first iPhone in 2007, they toppled Nokia
from the dominant position and started a decline that ended with
Nokia being sold to Microsoft in 2013. Why does this happen?
The short answer is that Nokia failed because it could not adapt
quickly enough. The company pivoted strategy to follow Apple’s
lead, but could not execute fast enough to recover. The hidden
reason behind Nokia’s failure is to close the strategy-to-execution
gap?
Take the case of Steve Jobs, who was recalled to Apple in
1997 in an attempt to turn around the fortunes of the rapidly
declining tech giant.
Jobs came with a strategy on how to return the company to
profitability, but he didn’t just share a strategy and leave it at
that. He was deeply involved in the execution of the strategy,
cutting down on multiple products that were in development
and even convincing Microsoft to invest $150 million in
Apple, despite the two companies being rivals.
74

69. Lesson from experience
A brilliant strategy that the entire board falls in love with. But One survey found out that executives claim
that 40% of their strategy’s potential value gets lost due to poor execution.
For organizations to remain successful, its leaders need to excel at both strategy and execution. They need
to not only know how to give a grand promise to their customers and investors, but how to deliver on this
promise as well.
A brilliant strategy is good for nothing if the execution is poor.
The CEO, presidents and other senior management team are typically in charge of strategy, while
the execution bit is left to the functional leaders and individual employees.
Separating the two activities creates a risk that the important activities and processes that drive the strategy
might not get executed properly, which then undermines the importance of the risk. What is worrying is that
a 2013 survey by Strategy found that only 16% of executives excel at either strategy or execution. Even
more saddening is that only half of these (8%) are good at both strategy and execution. Great business
leaders realize the importance of strategy and execution and treat them as two complimentary elements
that must work together in order to achieve success
75

70. IBM’s best experience: “who says elephants can’t dance?” (1/2)
Gerstner believed that the key to fixing IBM’s problem was “All about execution”. He
decided to analyze the behavior of company’s employees and customers and apply his
own interpretation of the company’s inherent strength.
At the end of Gerstner’s reign as the Chairman and CEO, the company employed 65,000
more people and the USD13 billion in losses notched up in the two years prior to his
arrival.
Gerstner recommended a price-reduction plan for its customers, which he thought was
most essential way to remain competitive in the mainframe market. Before this IBM had
maintained a very shortsighted view reflecting that with the lowering of prices, IBM will
gather less profit and revenue. He realized that a difficult, painful and massive
reengineering effort was required to get IBM to dedicate resources in bringing value to the
customer in the competitive marketplace. He developed the theme of the “new” IBM. But
One of Senior Executive quotes “Reengineering is like starting a fire on your head and
putting it out with a hammer.” IBM needed a top-to-bottom overhaul of its basic business
operations, which Gerstner implemented.
76

71. IBM best experience: “who says elephants can’t dance?” (2/2)
Gerstner appointed as Chairman and CEO of IBM set out a vision for IBM which led
to the major cultural changes and subsequent financial turnaround of the
organization. As summarized in “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?”, the major
eight principles that Louis Gerstner set out:
Louis Gerstner was a pragmatic leader who took action based on good quality
information and who showed great respect for the collective knowledge that existed
in an organization on the brink of collapse
He believes that when strategies are developed for employees and customers, the
new strategies should be believable and implementable. Louis Gerstner is of the
view that “Good Strategy is long on details” and hence his ability to execute the
strategy is commendable. He dismisses the common phrase “Small is Beautiful, Big
is Bad” and comments “focus combined with good leadership can enable an
elephant to be nimble and flexible.”
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72. DOCUMENT CONTROL
Date Version Program Name
Program
code
Content Developed
by
Contributors Validated by
Remark
April
2021
V0.1
Enhancing Our
Strategic Execution
Culture (EOSEC)
LMS012-0
Kibebu Tilahun
Tewelde G/kidan
Medhin Haftu
Tsion Mehari,
Ayele Adugna Taye
Mesfin
Tsion Mehari
July
2021
V1.0
Enhancing Our
Strategic Execution
Culture (EOSEC)
LMS012-0
Kibebu Tilahun
Tewelde G/kidan
Tsion Mehari Tsion Mehari