Vortrag an der HWZ-Darden Konferenz vom 8. Juni 2017 an der HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich. https://fh-hwz.ch/conference

1. Scott Snell
E. Thayer Bigelow Research Chair
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
USA
snells@darden.virginia.edu
STRATEGY EXECUTION
The 4A Framework
Scott Snell
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
snells@darden.virginia.edu
Leadership in the Face of New Technology

2. “A recent survey of more than 400 global CEOs found that executional
excellence was the number one challenge facing corporate leaders in
Asia, Europe, and the United States, heading a list of some 80 issues,
including innovation, geopolitical instability, and top-line growth.”
-- Sull, Homkes, & Sull, (2015)
In Search of Execution
“Strategy did not differentiate top vs. bottom quartile firms.”
• Minimal strategic differentiation between companies.
• Competitive advantages were transitory.
• Execution was the key...

3. "Five percent of the challenge is strategy.
Ninety-five percent is execution.”
--Carlos Ghosn, CEO Groupe Renault
Why is execution such a challenge?

4. 70%
Strategic initiatives
FAILED due to poor
EXECUTION
John Kotter, HBR, 2012
37%
Companies that are
GOOD when it comes
to EXECUTION
HBR Survey 2010 of 1000 Executives
Key Questions:
• Why is strategy execution so difficult? What gets in the way?
• Why do executives (need to) spend so much time on it?
• What is required to execute well? What factors matter most?
Source: University of Chicago
75%
SENIOR LEADERS spend 75% of their
time on execution capability.
“Ninety percent of firms consistently
FAIL TO EXECUTE strategies effectively.”
Morgan, Levitt, and Malek, HBS, 2007
90%
Most firms acknowledge they do
not execute well.
Executives spend a preponderance
of time on execution.
What’s the problem?

5. People believe that they understand
execution—it’s about getting stuff
done. But when you ask them how
to get things done, the dialogue
goes rapidly downhill.
Larry Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell
How can we do it better?
“E=f(GSD)”
“We have many useful frameworks for formulating business strategy, i.e., devising
theory of how to compete. Frameworks for strategy execution are comparatively
fragmented and idiosyncratic.”
James Richardson (2008)

6. Abbott
Accenture
Ally Financial
American Express
BAE Systems
Blackstone Group
BloominBrands
Boeing
Broadridge Financial
Carter's
CDW
Chick Fil-A
ChangAn Motors
Citigroup
Coca-Cola
Delta Airlines
Equifax
McDonalds
McGraw-Hill Companies
McKesson
Moody's Corporation
Motorola
Munich RE
Newell Rubbermaid
Northern Trust
Pfizer
Safe-Guard Products
Sears
SunTrust
Symantec
UPS
U.S. Army
Vail Resorts
Workday
Ericsson
General Dynamics
General Electric
Gilead
Hewlett Packard
Hyatt Hotels
IBM
Intel
ITW
Kaiser Permanente
Kelly Services
Laureate
LinkedIn
Lockheed Martin
Marriott
Maximus
Microsoft
• Business challenge – what are your priorities for execution?
• Drivers -- what are the critical drivers of execution capability (Pareto)?
• Priorities -- how do you determine which elements matter most?
Executive Roundtables

7. It is absolutely critical, but…
• Complexity. Goes beyond implementing a plan to include
culture, organizational design, processes, technology, and HRM.
• Time. Continuous and unending process—not a discrete event—
manifested in a series of integrated decisions and actions.
• Dynamism. Execution in the contemporary setting inevitably
leads to discussions of disruption, adaptation, and innovation.
What did they tell us?

8. ALIGNMENT
 Clear strategic intent
and accountability
ABILITY
 Human capital and
collaborative capability
ARCHITECTURE
 Infrastructure and
supporting systems
HumanOrganizational
PotentialKinetic
TYPE OF RESOURCE
TYPEOFENERGY
The 4A Framework
AGILITY
 Rapid learning and
responsiveness

9. Key Factors:
 Connect externally continuously
 Lower the center of gravity
 Learn fast, share widely
 Strengthen the core
AGILITY
“Execution in high velocity industries is not simply a big ‘curtain up’ event. It has as
much to do with principles of lean start up, experimentation, and rapid learning.”
EPIC PASS
• Data-driven marketing: CRM
• Predictive analytics
• Test and respond: personalize
• Embed best practice
Challenge: Transformation: Rapid learning and responsiveness

10. Behavior
Demo
Psych
Usage
Predictive Analysis
Segmentation
Personalize
Learn

11. Key Factors:
 Simplify structures
 Streamline to optimize processes
 Real-time info/decision support
ARCHITECTURE
“Complexity is the enemy of execution. We’re not talking boxes and arrows. We’re
focused on clarifying decision rights, and information flows to the right people.”
ORION
• Algorithmic “coaching”
• Customer delight
• Time, Miles, Cost
• Sustainability - environment
Challenge: B2B/B2C: Route optimization and decision support

12. Annual Savings
Miles: 100m
Fuel:
10m gallons
CO2:
100mt
Opex:
$400m
Architecture
B2C vs. B2B
Miles, fuel,
emissions
Package detail
Custom maps
Fleet telematics
Algorithms

13. Key Factors:
 Develop a robust leadership team
 Collaborative capability
 Talent pipeline (talent syndrome)
ABILITY
“Key talent in the most critical jobs. I mean, we spend a lot of time on that.”
DIFFERENTIATED TALENT
• Pivotal jobs: the future of Microsoft
• Talent talks
• “The best development is a new job”
• LinkedIn Learning
Challenge: Agility & growth mindset: “learn it all”

14. • World-class content: Online library of 9,000+ digital courses (Lynda.com)
• Data-driven personalization: Recommendations based on intelligence from your
LinkedIn network, relevant multi-course learning paths and analytics.
• Anytime, anywhere convenience: Bite-sized segments on any device, on or offline.

15. Key Factors:
 Articulate clear strategic intent
 Shared high expectations (culture)
 Mutual accountability (data  learning)
ALIGNMENT
“Achieving alignment is the most important thing. It has to come first, and
without it nothing much else matters.”
PLATFORM
• Online integration hub, information repository
• Success Pages
• Leader buttons – consistency of communication
• Collaboration Portal
• Pulse surveys – 2-way communication
Challenge: Cultivate one integrated enterprise.

16. • ASSESS: Identify strengths and gaps in your own execution
profile. The process of self assessment often leads to frank
discussion and discovery.
• PRIORITIZE: Determine areas to focus on first. If there are
areas of disqualification, they need to be addressed immediately.
Other areas are compensatory. Alignment is the sine qua non for
execution.
• DEVELOP AND DEPLOY: Give people tools and resources they
need, engage and empower them to identify and implement
solutions.
What’s Next?

17. Clear strategic intent
Shared performance expectation/culture
Accountability for results
Disqualified
Qualified
Exceptional
Talent capacity
Engagement/Empower
Collaborative capability
Simplified structures
System and technology utilization
Streamlined processes
External connection
Strengthen the core
Organizational learning
3.93
1.18
3.13
4.46
Execution Capability Profile

18. Further Consideration
Strategy in and of itself may not be the best predictor of
performance (same strategy different results).
Execution is an intuitive idea. Surprisingly few organizations
have a systematic approach or methodology.
Strategy execution is more than implementing a plan. It
requires a combination of agility, architecture, ability, and
alignment.
Technology is both a disrupter and key enabler. Its impact is
operational, relational, and transformational.
Checkpoint