A New Year's Resolution ... Execute Your Strategy
It's that time again, when we start thinking about turning over a new leaf and resolve to do something different in the New Year – whether in our personal or professional lives. I read an interesting article on this very topic in The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 22, "How to Keep a Resolution." It discussed the psychology of keeping a New Year's resolution.
After reading the article, I couldn't help but think about how similar keeping a New Year's resolution is to executing your organization's business strategy. The article said that relying on willpower alone is the wrong approach to successfully implementing a resolution.
"When setting a resolution, simply deciding to change your behavior may work for a while." However, "[k]eeping a resolution requires a detailed plan ... And don't wait for Jan. 1, experts say: Start planning now to increase your chances for success."
When implementing your New Year's resolution for your company to "execute our business strategy," I recommend heeding the same advice.
While having a strong leader pushing the organization's strategy through the force of will is important and has its value, establishing and implementing a "detailed plan" to execute your strategy is crucial for success.
The detailed plan should include: (1) scheduling the workshops to get your organization's key leaders to agree on measures to gauge your progress; (2) rationalizing your high-priority initiatives to ensure they are tied to your strategic objectives and aren't just "business as usual" projects; (3) scheduling in advance your quarterly strategy review meetings so information on your strategic progress can be shared in advance and important decisions can be taken at the meetings; and (4) communicating your strategy to all levels of your organization -- ultimately, linking individual incentives and rewards to strategic objectives.
So, as a New Year's resolution for your company, don't just try to will your organization to implement its strategy, make a detailed plan to enable your organization to execute it successfully.
June 2021
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