A lack of planning is not why organisations fail to achieve their strategic intentions. Execution is. This editorial looks at the research on formal execution processes, employee uncertainty and leadership alignment, and why execution cannot be separated from a high performance climate.
Planning is not the problem
Over the past twenty years, research organisations including Monitor Deloitte and the Conference Board have surveyed senior executives on strategy design and execution. Across all of those studies, execution ranked as the highest priority — and between 60 and 80 per cent of companies reported failing to achieve their strategic objectives.
It is successful execution, rather than a lack of planning, that keeps executives awake at night. If we have the discipline to plan, why do we fail at execution?
A formal execution process changes the odds
A Canadian study of 150 public service organisations found a strong positive relationship between strategic planning and implementation, influenced by leadership but also significantly by employee uncertainty.
Kaplan and Norton reported the cumulative results of several studies on strategy execution. Of the organisations without a formal execution process, 73 per cent reported average or below average strategic performance. Of those with one, 70 per cent reported outperforming their peer group. Having a formal process made execution success two to three times more likely.
Process alone is not enough
Michael Beer and colleagues argued that a process of strategy execution alone is insufficient in the multi-dimensional environment of a contemporary organisation. Alignment is necessary across structure, environment, strategy, technology, culture and leadership to establish a climate in which execution can succeed.
Employee uncertainty and leadership are the major influencers of implementation success. Authentic, people-centred leadership and open, transparent communication are the conditions in which high performance becomes possible.
Do not separate the humanity from the process
Far too often we attempt to strip the humanity out of an organisational process in an effort to control the outcome, only to find the process does not work.
Alignment of the components that create a high performance climate is a precursor to organisational success. Strategic planning execution is no different. To attempt to separate strategy and its execution from a high performance climate is foolhardy and doomed to failure. Successful organisations recognise that alignment of leadership, people, communication and culture is crucial, whatever the application.