Strategy implementation

The development of organisational strategy is a complex and demanding process, and

leaders who have devoted time, effort and resources to the selection of a strategy they
believe will secure the ongoing success of their company may feel they have reason to
be confident about the future. Nonetheless, their chosen strategy stands little chance of
success unless it is acted on. Effective implementation is critical to the success of
organisational strategy.
If strategy is to be more than an expression of hopes and aspirations for the future, the
practical implications for organisational operations and activities must be thought
through and put into practice. Strategy implementation requires organisations to put
initiatives in place which are focussed and realisable. A strategic focus should
encourage an organisation to develop disciplined processes for feeding strategic
initiatives across the organisation in a meaningful, realistic and achievable way.
The implementation or execution of strategy, however, is often neglected and its results
are frequently unpredictable. Problems encountered with the implementation of strategy
often lie not with any flaws in the strategy itself, but rather in a failure to implement it
effectively. Such failures can mean that strategic initiatives are only partially successful
and lead to frustration as the hoped for strategic benefits are not realised. Ultimately,
they can result in the decline or even, failure of the business as a whole.
Translating strategy aims into actionable processes in an ordered fashion is, however,
not easy. The setting of priorities and the development of plans may present
organisations with formidable management challenges. The effective execution of
strategy can be impeded by many and varied difficulties including; weak or inconsistent
senior-level commitment, a lack of support from managers and employees, cross-
departmental conflicts, ambiguity in roles and responsibilities or a lack of accountability.
This checklist, therefore, aims to help managers to understand the complexities of
strategy implementation and to provide guidance on the factors which will help
organisations to achieve optimal, rather than maximal implementation of strategy.
Strategy implementation is the process by which an organisation translates its
chosen strategy into action plans and activities, which will steer the organisation in the
direction set out in the strategy and enable the organisation to achieve its strategic
objectives.

THE REQUIREMENT OF STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

1. Ensure that plans are aligned with organisational mission, vision and
values
Strategic development is an important business activity which involves defining the
strategic direction an organisation will take and the objectives it aims to achieve.
Obvious as this may seem, it is vital to ensure that implementation plans are based on
the stated organisational strategy and objectives. Just as strategy must be derived from
the organisation’s mission and vision and in line with organisational values, so
implementation must follow the direction which has been set out in the organisation’s
strategic documents and prioritise those things which are seen to be most important for
the future success of the organisation. Bear in mind, however, that organisational
mission and vision, or even values may need to change in response to changing
circumstances and should be reviewed regularly.
2. Build an effective leadership team
The optimal implementation of strategy is highly dependent on the professional people
management and leadership capabilities of both strategic and operational managers.
New strategies may create new requirements for leaders and the organisations that
they lead. Strategic change may require new personnel with fresh perspectives, or
differing skills and experience. Strategic shifts may well entail a change in emphasis
involving new customers or markets, technologies or business processes. Leaders may
need to adjust their leadership styles, or learn new management techniques and
approaches. The implementation of a new strategy may alter priorities, change resource
allocations, and involve a shift in relationships. This can sometimes pose a threat to the
power and status of some significant and influential people within the organisation.
Processes for assessing and developing leadership, should be seen as a normal part of
strategic implementation. Leaders will have to take an objective view of the existing
management team, including themselves, and assess whether the team is capable of
implementing the strategy. Ideally, coaching or development should be offered to help
individuals to improve their performance or develop new skills, if necessary, so that they
are better able to achieve the goals and objectives required of them. Our checklists on
managing plateaued or passive people may be helpful here. (See Additional Resources
below.) However, some people may be incapable of adapting, resistant to change or
unwilling to accept a revised role and prefer to move on to another organisation. These
are sensitive issues and must be handled carefully, and with due regard for legislation
relating to issues such as redundancy and constructive dismissal.
Building the right team is crucial to the success of strategy execution. Organisations
need to have human resource personnel and processes in place to recruit new people
as required. The selection of team members should not, however, lie solely with the
human resources department but must involve senior management. This will reinforce
the importance of the initiative and can also be a means of identifying talent within an
organisation. Involvement in implementation teams should be seen as a positive career
move.
3. Create an implementation plan
A full implementation plan with milestones needs to be created for all levels of the
organisation. The plan should lay out the steps necessary to achieve the objectives and
include schedules for key activities. The resources needed to achieve the objectives
must also be detailed. The plan should quantify the financial, personnel, operational,
time, and technological resources which will be required, as well as identifying those
responsible for individual initiatives.
The implementation plan sets priorities and accountabilities, including short-term and
long-term objectives. Strategic objectives should: be broken down into manageable
pieces; establish a chain of command; and may also outline additional organisational
structures which will need to be aligned with the strategy initiative – the creation of
cross-functional teams for example. Accountability is an important factor in successfully
delivering strategy and acts as a motivator which concentrates people’s minds on
following through on the All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publisher.

responsibilities allocated to them. It is important that personal accountabilities are

clearly defined so that individuals understand what they are responsible for.
A fundamental task when drawing up a strategic implementation plan is to draft it in
such a way that it can be articulated into separate action plans for each project and
initiative. Ensure that good project management practices are followed and that training
in project management methods is given as appropriate. The plan also needs to be
visible so that it does not become disconnected from the decision-making process, and
accessible to all, not restricted to the strategy department or senior executives and
managers.
Strategy implementation is a dynamic process which has to take account of changing
conditions impacting upon the strategy and its implementation. The plan therefore must
be capable of change and amendment as circumstances dictate and the latest version
should incorporate the results of ongoing learning.
4. Allocate budgetary resources
Securing a satisfactory budget is one of the main requirements when implementing
strategy. A new strategy may entail the development of new processes, the purchase of
new equipment, the recruitment of additional employees, staff training or development
activities, or the upgrading of information technology. The budgeting process needs to
ensure that strategic initiatives are properly resourced and can be implemented in the
agreed timescales.
Organisations use budgets to make sure that what is important gets done, but it is all
too easy to focus on tactical challenges and short-term financial targets and allow this to
take up a large amount of time and resources. Strategic initiatives can become the
victim of this process, so it’s vital for the budgetary process to be aligned with strategy.
Each aspect of the strategy must be linked to operating and capital budgets.
Budgetary processes can also be used to track whether activities are behind schedule
or not achieving the anticipated results. Financial forecasts, key performance indicators
and actual expenditure can be compared to assess progress and to decide whether the
costs involved are worth the results being produced. In some cases, it may become
necessary to adjust the budget in order to reallocate or redistribute resources and get
the strategy back on track.
5. Assign objectives and responsibilities
A formal planning and measurement structure is needed to implement strategy
effectively. Strategic responsibilities and objectives need to be clearly assigned so that
individuals understand their roles within the strategy and are able to take responsibility
for or ownership of specific strategic tasks and outcomes. All those who have a role to
play in the implementation of the strategy need to be clear about intended outcomes
and their responsibilities for the achievement of these outcomes. The task of ensuring
that employees know and understand their roles and how these contribute to
organisational objectives rests with those who have drawn up the strategy and those
who are responsible for ensuring that it is being implemented effectively.
Objectives and responsibilities should be made explicit and where possible they should
be assigned to individuals rather than teams as this makes for clear personal
accountability. Employees at all levels also need to know how their performance will be
measured and evaluated. Metrics should be created for each task and documented so
that everybody knows what the intended outcomes and the expected timeframes are.
Organisations will be unable to hold individuals to account if strategic objectives or
outcomes are not measured.
It is important to break strategic goals down into smaller specific objectives which can
be measured and tracked. As specific objectives are met, step by step, this will give
individuals and teams a sense of achievement, generate a sense of momentum and
help to maintain enthusiasm. Be aware that while some outcomes, such as a growth in
profits are relatively easy to record and measure, other matters such as staff morale
and engagement will require softer metrics. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the publisher.

6. Align structures and processes

All organisations have existing business processes, plans and structures in place to
manage their operations. Often these operate in isolation from one another and can
bear little relationship to each other or to organisational strategy. If separate business
units set their objectives independently, the contribution they make to organisational
success could well turn out to be less than expected.
For an organisation to be capable of effectively implementing strategy, structures and
processes need to be aligned with the strategic objectives. The strategy may be set out
in a plan but organisational structures will determine how it is defined and executed.
The activities of business units need to be coordinated and the skills and capabilities of
each unit made available for the benefit of the organisation as a whole. Think about how
this can be achieved, perhaps by individual directors championing a particular strand of
the business across the organisation. Alignment assists in clarifying the strategy and in
coordinating the activities of those who put it into action. It will also ensure consistency
of purpose from the top of the organisation down to operating level as strategy is
embedded throughout the organisation.
Ongoing and proposed projects also need to be aligned with strategic objectives. To
achieve this, each project must be evaluated to determine whether and to what extent it
will contribute to the achievement of strategic objectives. This will inform decisions as to
which projects should be resourced and carried through to completion. Review points
should be built into implementation plans.
7. Align people
Effective people management is a critical issue in the successful implementation of
strategy. The work of employees needs to be aligned with the strategy, so that their
efforts contribute to the achievement of organisational objectives. Organisations should
define the behaviours required throughout the organisation. It may be necessary to ask
employees to change the way that they work. Cultural issues will need to be considered
here. For example, in organisations where internal collaboration has traditionally been
weak, employees may need to start working cross-functionally.
Organisations need to create a cohesive strategy which employees can understand and
get engaged with. Employees need to know that they are making a meaningful
contribution to the success of the organisation and senior leaders must ensure that
employees at all levels can articulate and evaluate how their personal job roles help to
achieve specific strategic objectives.
Organisations need to consider what skills and capabilities they need to meet their
strategic aims, both now and in the future. For this reason, leaders should attempt to
anticipate how the organisation and the strategy are likely to evolve in the foreseeable
future and identify those skills which will be of greater or lesser importance.
8. Communicate the strategy
All employees will need to have a clear understanding of the core elements of the
strategy and how it is to be executed, so the strategy must be effectively communicated
to everyone. This will encourage employee buy-in, commitment and engagement and
should have a positive impact on productivity. Develop a communication strategy that
will promote the overall vision and strategy of the organisation and articulate and define
a set of well-defined goals. Avoid vague statements and ensure that objectives are
expressed in concrete and measurable terms with tangible results and expected time
frames.
Issues to be considered include: messages to be communicated; audience to be
reached; behavioural changes needed; communication channels to be used; and
measures to evaluate the level of success or failure. Simply giving employees a copy of
the strategy plan is rarely effective. Instead, prepare a separate document, summarising
the most important and significant points and providing a clear, concise summary.
Remember to include information on why this particular strategy has been adopted and
explain the rationale for the priorities which have been established. Avoid jargon and
aim to make the messaging clear, concise, consistent and as convincing and compelling
as possible. To ensure that the message becomes embedded, All rights reserved. No
part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.

be prepared to repeat messages often, possibly using different channels, media and
formats. Aligning your communications with organisational objectives will make them
more relevant and effective, and help you to make a convincing case for the resourcing
of communications activity within the organisation. In the case of a long-term strategy,
identify some quick wins which will demonstrate the success of the new strategy and
increase the visibility of the changes at regular intervals.
9. Review and report on progress
Progress should be reviewed regularly to check that the strategy is being implemented
as envisioned. Strategy reviews allow managers to track progress, reflect on priorities
and identify any issues that may need to be tackled. Remember, though, that strategy
reviews have more to do with whether the strategy is producing results than with
controlling performance.
Review meetings must be held often enough to keep the implementation process on
course and to enable leaders to take decisions about any strategic adjustments which
are needed to be made. Initially, this may be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly.
Frequency can be scaled back later when it is clear that the implementation process
has been established and is working well. More frequent meetings may be necessary if
the strategy is introducing major organisational change or if the business environment is
evolving rapidly. There must be sufficient time for meaningful discussion to take place.
Meetings may be time consuming at first but the need for frequent meetings will
decrease as time goes on. Time spent productively in the early states will save time
later on.
The regular reporting and reviewing process should be supported by an effective
tracking system which can describe and measure performance. Such measures, or key
performance indicators (KPIs), can be developed using a framework such as Kaplan
and Norton’s balanced scorecard. This uses financial and non-financial perspectives to
describe progress in consistent, insightful, operational terms and to translate strategic
objectives into measurable performance. The use of such a framework can facilitate
improvements as the effectiveness of the strategy is tested in the real world.
10. Make strategic adjustments as necessary
Strategy implementation is a dynamic process which takes place against the
background of changing economic, social and competitive circumstances. This is where
the leadership skills, capabilities and judgement of managers will be called upon to
steer the organisation, underlining what was said in section 2 about the importance of
building a good leadership team. This will involve decisions on the allocation of
resources for optimal benefits as the competitive context evolves and judgements as to
when changes are warranted. A balance between frequent changes of direction which
may result in loss of organisational momentum and coordination and rigid adherence to
plans when these are manifestly not achieving results needs to be found. Just as
important, is the need for managers to align people, communicating changes, explaining
how individual and team contributions contribute to outcomes and how engagement
with the strategy will help them to achieve personal goals and aspirations, and
effectively motivating and energising employees across the organisation.

11. Develop an organisational culture that supports the strategy

Organisational culture plays a significant role in successfully translating strategic plans
and initiatives into action. No matter how good an organisation’s strategy may be,
implementation will be hindered if the organisational culture does not support it.
Culture is to the organisation what personality and character are to individuals. It
consists of the assumptions, values and beliefs that employees share and which
influence their activities, opinions and behaviour at work. A culture which is aligned with
organisational strategy will help organisations to implement strategy successfully as a
shared belief in organisational aims and objectives will promote commitment.
Conversely, an organisational culture which is not aligned may stand in the way of
adjustments to changing business needs and weaken the ability of an organisation to
achieve its strategic aims.

STEPS IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

To ensure an effective and successful implementation of strategies, it’s a good idea to
have a system to go about it. Take a look at the steps to ensure that happens.
Step #1: Evaluation and communication of the Strategic Plan
The strategic plan, which was developed during the Strategy Formulation stage, will be
distributed for implementation. However, there is still a need to evaluate the plan,
especially with respect to the initiatives, budgets and performance. After all, it is
possible that there are still inputs that will crop up during evaluation but were missed
during strategy formulation.
There are several sub-steps to be undertaken in this step.
1. Align the strategies with the initiatives. First things first, check that the strategies on
the plan are following the same path leading to the mission and strategic goals of the
organization.
2. Align budget to the annual goals and objectives. Financial assessments conducted
prior will provide an insight on budgetary issues. You have to evaluate how these
budgetary issues will impact the attainment of objectives, provides sufficient support for
it. In the event that there are budgetary constraints or limitations, they must first be
addressed before launching fully into implementation mode.
3. Communicate and clarify the goals, objectives and strategies to all members of the
organization. Regardless of their position in the organization’s hierarchy, everyone must
know and understand the goals and objectives of the organization, and the strategies
that will be employed to achieve them.
Step #2: Development of an implementation structure
The next step is to create a vision, or a structure, that will serve as a guide or framework
for the implementation of strategies.
1. Establish a linking or coordination mechanism between and among the various
departments and their respective divisions and units. This is mainly for purposes
of facilitating the delegation of authority and responsibility.
2. Formulate the work plans and procedures to be followed in the implementation of
the tactics in the strategies.
3. Determine the key managerial tasks and responsibilities to be performed, and the
qualifications required of the person who will perform them.
4. Determine the key operational tasks and responsibilities to be performed, and the
qualifications required of the person who will perform them.
5. Assign the tasks to the appropriate departments of the organization.
6. Evaluate the current staffing structure, checking if you have enough manpower,
and if they have the necessary competencies to carry out the tasks. This may
result to some reorganization or reshuffling of people. In some cases, it may also
 require additional training for current staff members, or even hiring new
employees with the required skills and competencies. This is also where the
organization will decide if it will outsource some activities instead.
7. Communicate the details to the members of the organization. This may be in the
form of models, manuals or guidebooks.
Step #3: Development of implementation-support policies and programs
Some call them “strategy-encouraging policies” while others refer to them as “constant
improvement programs”. Nonetheless, these are policies and programs that will be
employed in aid of implementation.
1. Establish a performance tracking and monitoring system. This will be the basis of
evaluating the progress of the implementation of strategies, and monitoring the rate of
accomplishment of results, or if they were accomplished at all. Define the indicators for
measuring the performance of every employee, of every unit or section, of every
division, and of every department.
2. Establish a performance management system. Quite possibly, the aspect of
performance management that will encourage employee involvement is a recognition
and reward structure. When creating the reward structure, make sure that it has a clear
and direct link to the accomplishment of results, which will be indicated in the
performance tracking and monitoring system.
3. Establish an information and feedback system that will gather feedback and results
data, to be used for strategy evaluation later on.
4. Again, communicate these policies and programs to the members of the organization.
Step #4: Budgeting and allocation of resources
It is now time to equip the implementors with the tools and other capabilities to perform
their tasks and functions.
1. Allocate the resources to the various departments, depending on the results of
financial assessments as to their budgetary requirements.
2. Disburse the necessary resources to the departments, and make sure everything is
properly and accurately documented.
3. Maintain a system of checks and balances to monitor whether the departments are
operating within their budgetary limits, or they have gone above and beyond their
allocation.
Step #5: Discharge of functions and activities
It is time to operationalize the tactics and put the strategies into action, aided by
strategic leadership, utilizing participatory management and leadership styles.
Throughout this step, the organization should also ensure the following:
Continuous engagement of personnel by providing trainings and reorientations.
Enforce the applicable control measures in the performance of the tasks.
Evaluate performance at every level and identify performance gaps, if any, to enable
adjusting and corrective actions. It is possible that the corrective actions may entail
changes in the policies, programs and structures established and set in earlier steps.
That’s all right. Make the changes when necessary.
Basically, the results or accomplishments in Step #5 will be the input in the next step,
which is the third stage of Strategic Management: “strategy evaluation”.
Some argue that implementation of strategies is more important than the strategies
themselves. But this is not about taking sides or weighing and making comparisons,
especially considering how these two are important stages in Strategic Management.
Thus, it is safe to say that formulating winning strategies is just half the battle, and the
other half is their implementation.