Many leaders of organizations put themselves in a difficult position by trying to tackle too fast, too many and too complex things at the same time. In this blog, Dolf L'Ortye, co-founder of Summiteers, calls on those responsible for strategy execution to enter into dialogue with their leaders about simplifying and delaying. Make clear choices, plan realistically and communicate clearly about priorities. Then you will eventually be more successful in implementing the strategy and will realize it a lot faster.

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Wiring the winning organization

A while back, I accidentally came across an article about a book: Wiring the winning organization by Gene Kim. It contains the diagram below, which reminded me of the dynamics we often encounter in our conversations with executives who are responsible for strategy execution.

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Frustration abounds

We often see that leaders of organizations put themselves in a very difficult position. There is a strategy and it must then go to implementation. A lot of things are happening and it's all happening at the same time. Projects, programs and then there is also the line where changes are made and a run is run. There are dependencies but they are not sharp enough. They will become clear when they become clear... Just go. The issues and challenges that need to be addressed to achieve that strategy seem too complex, people want to finish it too quickly and it all has to be done now. This is, for example, because a number of sub-strategies are executed simultaneously to achieve the corporate strategy. Good initiatives in themselves, but usually not at the same time. This creates all kinds of dependencies. It is simply incalculable for a person. Frustration abounds; hassle about priorities and a lack of sense of progress. But what then? The answer is twofold: simplify and slow down. That sounds easy but in practice requires a straight back and discipline.

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Simplify

I know, especially in large companies, simplifying is easier said than done. It means you have to make choices. Serious choices. What is really important and what — and often who — should wait? In practice, however, we often choose not consciously. Managers who play the game smartest and shout the loudest get priority. Survival of the fittest at the corporate level. Whether that's also the best thing for the overall price, on the whole, remains to be seen. “But yes, we may not oversee it, but at least something is happening!” , you'll hear it. Simplification requires an in-depth analysis of the problem, together with the people who really understand it. Map the heads of the many-headed monster. This way, you can unravel the dependencies and map out the correct order. Then you can prioritize, really choose and that sometimes causes a bit of toothache. A high potential manager may be on a file that is not getting a priority right now and someone like that does not like that. But what is more important now? This way, you filter out 'the hassle', making it more manageable. Make the issues so small that people can oversee them.

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Slow down

Once you have a good picture of everything, it's important to slow down, if necessary, of course. How often do we experience something just being shouted about the delivery date without any idea what actually needs to happen? “This will be finished in 10 weeks!” , while there is no plan yet. Don't just say that something will be finished within a certain period of time, but plan realistically. Take the time to finish things, learn from them and keep getting better. Of course, that sounds counterintuitive in a world where everything has to be done quickly, but that's the crux of the matter. We often work with — too — ambitious timelines. The question, however, is: is that feasible and what is the effect? Unnecessary pressure, choosing too quickly, not creating support, and so on. All things that ensure that, if you actually want to change something, it will not work or will be delivered far too late. Slowing down means planning realistically, although that can of course be quite ambitious.

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Telling the hard truth: communication is crucial

It's up to the people responsible for strategy execution to tell the hard truth. Not always rewarding work, but it is crucial for success. They need to enter into a dialogue with the management team that wants everything faster and keeps putting pressure on things by not choosing. Talk about the importance of simplifying and delaying. Explain that it sounds exciting, but ultimately leads to a huge acceleration in strategy execution, simply because a whole lot of unnecessary hassle and frustration disappears. Frustrations and associated escalations take too much time, often have the effect of losing people and do not contribute to actually realizing the actions needed to make your plan a reality. They only lead to hassle, and you can prevent that by simplifying and slowing down.

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Need help with strategy and execution?

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