It’s not time to rest on your laurels for setting solid, aspirational goals.
Your organization requires smart action to avoid the pitfalls of the estimated 67% whose well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution.
After the buzz of planning settles down, many teams fall into routines that include ad hoc tasks or administrative items not tied directly to organizational success. Without a daily reminder or insight into the plan, employees will work on what is right in front of them or most urgent versus what contributes to the long-term strategy.
You sidestep this trap by mapping day-to-day work routines that link projects to a strategic objective. Effective routines foster your organization’s strategy, imagine your management team conducting daily stand-up meetings on critical items and tracking how much is completed on short- and long-term goals.
Get The Yellow Jersey
New York Times bestselling author James Clear explains that British cyclists languished as mediocre racers for a hundred years until a new coach implemented “the aggregation of marginal gains,” the philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do.
The cyclists redesigned, tested, and advanced in small ways on a daily basis until they achieved a different outcome. They dominated in multiple Olympic games and won the Tour de France. Their refinements, barely detectable in the short-term, were meaningful in the long-term.
You want the proverbial yellow jersey for your organization. Here are the best strategic execution processes to get you there:
- Include broad internal involvement and reach into how work actually gets done.
- Define everyone’s roles and responsibilities, as well as measurable outcomes for their work that link to the organization’s success.
- Take into account that people are a limited resource, and measure available capacity.
- Align individual self-interest with strategic goals (as in, it benefits and delights the employee to do the work required to reach company goals)
Work on the Right Things
Failure to work on the right things indicates that employees do not know the long-term strategy, priorities, or purpose. Less than 10% of employees report that they understand their company’s strategy.
Plans and goals will evolve as the team becomes comfortable discussing strategy the right way.
Execution moves your organization to a culture that values purposeful work. Productivity improves and employees are fulfilled.
