If you’re lucky, you’ve managed to select some great people as heads of your departments. They’re skilled, trustworthy, dependable, loyal, and passionate about their work, and yet you, like many companies out there, might find yourself struggling with strategy execution.
It’s not that your team is a bunch of opinionated grumps who can’t seem to find common ground. What we often see as a cause of poorly executed company strategy is that department heads get so focused on their department’s specific goals that they forget about the big picture.
When we consult with different organizations, we first assess their company goals and objectives, and then we speak with the department heads.
- To the CFO, who is all about numbers, we say: “Budgets and resource allocation are not independent tasks — you need to base your resource allocation on the company’s strategic objectives. So, connect with your company’s strategy.”
- To the quality assurance director, responsible for standards and compliance, we say: “Quality is about doing things right, but what the right things to do are is described in your strategy. So, connect with your company’s strategy.”
- To the operations/innovation manager, who lives and breathes processes and business process reengineering (BPR), we say: “Process optimization is good, but which processes should you optimize? Connect with your company’s strategy.”
- When we meet the project manager with a big portfolio of projects to manage, we ask the question: “How do your projects help your company to fulfill its strategy? Have you linked up your portfolio to the company’s strategy? If not,— connect with your company’s strategy.”
- Then we come to the risk manager, who uses risk heat maps as wallpaper, and we ask how they identify risk. “Do you assess only what can go wrong in your surroundings, or do you also consider risks that can prevent the company from fulfilling its goals? You need to connect to strategy when defining risk factors.”
- Finally, we come to the HR manager. Their view is that having competent employees is the most important company goal. We tell them that “People and competence is not a goal in itself. It needs to be developed according to what the company is trying to accomplish in its strategy. HR needs to be connected to strategy.”
Strategic alignment is the cornerstone of good governance. If your communication skills are on point, it’s typically not difficult to get everyone on the same page about what you want to achieve as a company and how you plan to achieve it. The challenge is to get everyone to embrace the strategy and act in accordance with the plan when they go back to their desks. Executing organizational strategy requires time, work, and discipline from everyone (including you!) in your organization. However, it’s well worth the effort. Those organizations that are able to successfully connect departmental goals with company strategy will benefit from greater operational efficiency, improved performance, and a greater likelihood of meeting their company goals.
