IMPLEMENTING

STRATEGY.
Checklist 259

» INTRODUCTION

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.

» DEFINITION

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.

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» ACTION CHECKLIST

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

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any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
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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.

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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,

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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.

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» POTENTIAL PITFALLS

Managers should avoid:

› thinking that strategy implementation is a simple process

› being caught unawares by unanticipated market changes which necessitate adjustments
› committing insufficient resources to execute the strategy
› failing to align organisational design and capabilities with the strategy
› failing to communicate the strategy consistently and persistently throughout the organisation
› making the strategy implementation and reporting process overly bureaucratic and time-
consuming, leaving little time to put real changes into action.

» ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

BOOKS

Exploring strategy, 9th ed, Gerry Johnson, Richard Whittington and Kevan Scholes,
Harlow: Pearson Education, 2011

Good strategy bad strategy: the difference and why it matters, Richard P Rumelt,
London: Profile Books, 2011

Strategy safari: the complete guide through the wilds of strategic management, 2nd ed, Henry
Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, Joseph Lampel,
Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2009

The execution premium: linking strategies to operations for competitive advantage, Robert S. Kaplan,
and David. P. Norton,
Boston Mass.: Harvard Business Press, 2008

Smarter execution: seven steps to getting results, Xavier Gilbert, Bettina Buchel, Rhoda Davidson,
Harlow: Pearson Education, 2007

Execution the discipline of getting things done, Larry Bossidy, and Ram Charan,
London: Random House, 2002

This is a selection of books available for loan to members from CMI’s library. More information at:
www.managers.org.uk/library

RELATED CHECKLISTS

052 Setting objectives

086 Development for passive people
140 Managing plateaued performers

RELATED MODELS

Johnson and Scholes cultural web

McKinsey’s 7s framework

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any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
 INTERNET RESOURCES

W.K. Kellogg Foundation - Template for Strategic Communications Plan

http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2006/01/template-for-strategic-communications-plan.aspx

Advanced Institute of Management Research - (AIM) - Building a strategy toolkit

http://www.aimresearch.org/uploads/File/Publications/Executive%20Briefings%202/Building_a_strategy_toolki
t.pdf

» NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS FOR MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

This checklist has relevance for the following standards:

› Unit BA5: Develop your organisation’s vision and strategy

› Unit FA1: Implement and evaluate strategic business plans

» MORE INFORMATION

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p Chartered Management Institute

Management House, Cottingham Rd, Corby, Northants, NN17 1TT

This publication is for general guidance only. The publisher and expert contributors disclaim all liability for any
errors or omissions. You should make appropriate enquiries and seek appropriate advice before making any
business, legal or other decisions.

Revised January 2014

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