This document discusses strategy execution and provides tips for improving it. It emphasizes that a strategy is only as good as its execution, and that successful execution requires setting up an organizational environment that aligns with and drives the strategy. This includes focusing on structure and processes, culture and values, people, and measurements and incentives. It also stresses the importance of effectively communicating the strategy to build knowledge and engagement throughout the organization.

1. Your next competitive advantage?
Senior Executive Programme
Jeroen De Flander
London, 28 June 2011

2. What are the key points about Strategy
Execution that have been made in
this executive programme?
“However beautiful the strategy,
you should occasionally look at the results”
- Sir Winston Churchill

3. 1. Strategy: who, what, how + CHOICES
2. Strategy implementation: create an organisational
environment that FITS with the strategy and drives
individual behaviour
– Structure & Processes
– Culture & values
– People
– Measurements & incentives
3. Sell your strategy: knowledge is not enough

4. What are the Strategy Execution
challenges that you were faced with
in the past?
“However beautiful the strategy,
you should occasionally look at the results”
- Sir Winston Churchill

5. Skilled Managers
Engaged People &
Performance-Driven Culture
Strategy Focus
Individual Objective Setting
Support for Managers
Performance-Related Pay
Strategy Communication
Initiative Management
Extract from the Strategy Execution Barometer

6. Back-up slides
“Don’t measure performance by what you
have accomplished, but by what you should
have accomplished within your capabilities.”

8. What are the capabilities you need to
excel at strategy execution?
“Don’t measure performance by what you
have accomplished, but by what you should
have accomplished within your capabilities.”

9. Don’t limit discussion to CHOICE, focus the energy of the
debate on the underlying hypothesis
Hypothesis
CHOICE
HOW?

11. “A strategy Execution framework
should be simple, easy-to-communicate
and visually strong”

12. 1 hour every quarter in a company with 1000 employees
=
2.6 full time equivalents !
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex.
It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to
move in the opposite direction”
- Albert Einstein

13. 1 Define what you need and how you are going to get it
3 Design world-class learning interventions
5 Set development objectives
1 2 3 4 5 6
6 Measure success
4 Execute flawlessly
2 Manage your development portfolio
13

15. How to increase the sell-ability of your
strategy?
“Don’t measure performance by what you
have accomplished, but by what you should
have accomplished within your capabilities.”

16. The sender
The message
The receiver
“When you are tired of the strategy story, you have
probably reached 3% of the target population”

17. Your strategy .. you told someone .. who told someone .. who told someone

18. _ Who needs to know what?
_ How are we going to make the knowledge available?
_ The platform
_ What are the best learning methods?
_ How can we motivate people to learn?
_ Connectivity, Awareness & Responsibility
_ Manage the time lag between learning and doing

19. ... a visual
… a compelling business case that creates enthusiasm and inspires
people
… a simple storyline so it’s easy for employees to pick it up and
repeat the story vividly at the kitchen table
… consistency. Stick to the message and make sure others do too
… to be easy to relate to. People need to see how they fit in
… great communication skills to get the strategy into the heads,
hands and harts of the employees
… a heavy investment in awareness creation
… role models

20. AWARENESS
+
RESPONSIBILITY
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise
their own performance. It’s helping them to learn
rather than teaching them.
- Tim Gallwey

21. When your employee says ‘yes’ to the strategy....
....what does (s)he really say?
I will make the strategy happen, no matter what
or
I will work hard (effort ) to implement the strategy
or
I see the benefits of the strategy and will contribute to the implementation
or
I don’t see the benefits but don’t want to loose my job
or
I’m against the strategy, don’t want to implement but I don’t tell it in your face

22. Individual objective setting is not about the
SMART technique, it’s about creating
emotional commitment to the strategy
and answering the “What’s in it for me”
question?

23. Coaching - the 7 maturity stages
Coaching is ‘how we do business’ with all our stakeholders 7
Coaching is the predominant style of managing throughout the organisation 6
Coaching is embedded in the HR and performance management processes 5
Coaching is a norm for individuals, teams and the whole organisation 4
The organisation actively supports coaching endeavours 3
The organisation develops its own coaching and mentoring capacity 2
The organisation employs coaches for some of its executives 1
Adapted from Peter Hawkins and Nick Smith

24. PowerPoint fanatic From PowerPoint to practice
Do as I say, not as I do Actions speak louder than words
We need to start from scratch Let’s see what works
I’m too important to focus on execution Execution is my priority

25. Your next competitive advantage?