All about the execution

Your firm might have the best business strategy but if the management team doesn’t execute that strategy properly, it could fail.

While execution can go wrong for a variety of reasons, one of the most basic mistakes may be failing to allow the strategy to evolve over time. The business world doesn’t stand still. It is constantly changing. As such, your strategy should be allowed to evolve too. That’s not to say that it should be re-written every week, but there should be scope to allow your management team to tweak things and to respond to new opportunities when they arise in order to keep the business moving towards its overall objective.

 Good strategy execution requires a good plan. That plan should facilitate coordination of objectives across the firm, while mitigating risk and minimising bottlenecks. Your plan should help your team members to set priorities and set realistic deadlines. You need to ensure that the whole firm embraces a joined up approach. You don’t want to end up in a situation where one department is moving in a different direction to the rest of the firm.  

Roles, responsibilities and expectations need to be clear from the start. If people don’t understand what is expected of them, it can be very difficult to get things done. Communication is key and managers should ensure that their team members have a clear understanding of their individual objectives, deadlines, etc. Managers need to make themselves available to their team members so that there is ongoing communication around management of objectives, deliverables, etc.

 Executing a strategy often involves change. You cannot expect people to change the way they work overnight. However, you can start by communicating what it is you need them to do differently and why you need them to do this. If your people understand the strategy of the firm and the part that they can play in helping the business to succeed, they are more likely to implement the changes. 

You should celebrate the successes as you achieve each milestone of your business strategy. If your people feel that they are part of a firm that is “winning”, they are more likely to buy into the vision and strategy of the business.