An organization elected to go the DIY route to implement its strategy. They reached out six months later. The reason? Their overwhelmed implementation teams are confused because progress isn’t happening. Their strategy plan is too much relative to their daily responsibilities. The top executive wondered about holding an event to bring everyone together and do something, but not generating more ideas for things to do.
The First Steps in Moving from Planning to Implementation
I asked questions about what they did when they shifted into implementing their strategy plan:
- Did they select implementation team members to lead specific parts of the plan?
- Were they able to put someone in place for each team to function as a project manager?
- Did they prioritize initiatives that they wanted to implement immediately versus delay for later?
- Did they assign timelines to tactics?
- How are executive sponsors engaging with team leaders to prioritize activities and clear roadblocks?
- Are they tracking progress on activities that should be going on right now?
Where do those questions originate?
They are the initial steps we address when transitioning a client from planning a strategy to implementing it.
The executive I met with wasn’t sure about the answers to those questions. Still, the chief executive had already decided that holding a large group strategy meeting is the solution to get things moving.
My reply to the suggested strategy event? “An event won’t fix failing to lead and manage the organization.”
Why a Strategy Event Isn’t the First Answer to Jumpstart Implementation
Here’s why I said what I said.
Strategy events are most valuable in the early and middle phases of strategy planning. That’s when you are identifying the broad strategic direction (early phase) or focusing on spelling out major initiatives and tactics (middle phase).
Closer to implementation, the key to making things happen is doing the work of doing something. Leadership and management are vital.
Certainly, Brainzooming can help this organization in meaningful ways. We can:
- Ready implementation teams and improve their success through training.
- Orient implementers about their roles, how to successfully launch initiatives, and the most important next steps they should address.
- Make active contributions to creating strategic impact through project management, tracking progress, reporting performance metrics, and cheerleading success.
Leaders Need to Lead
When you’re outside an organization, you can’t run things. That’s where executive leaders must step up.
In answer to the title question, a strategy event isn’t the right answer to get things moving when it’s time for your organization to do something with the strategy.
That doesn’t happen at a big event. It happens by doing the work every day. - Mike Brown
