Why We Fail at Strategy Implementation

and nine leadership actions to succeed.

Today’s leaders need both the ability

to craft the right strategy and

the skills to implement it.

There is, however, a precarious skills gap among leaders. They have been taught how to craft strategy but not how to implement it and this a major

contributor to why nine out 10 implementations fail around the world, see Bridges research at Implementation Surveys

1. Strategy is about making the right choices – implementation is about taking the right actions.

After crafting the strategy too many leaders delegate the implementation responsibility. They assume that once the strategy is formed the implementation is a fate accompli.

Leaders must stay committed throughout the whole implementation journey by constantly discussing, guiding and overseeing it.

2. Implementation of strategy never goes according to plan.

Whatever was designed in the boardroom is never what happens once the implementation starts.

Leaders must communicate changes and explain why they are necessary.

3. Strategy is only as good as its implementation.

People are always busy. But the difference between success and failure comes when they take the right actions.

Leaders must tell their staff members what to do, make sure they are motivated to do it and that are doing it.

4. Leaders craft strategy but they do not implement it.

They are not the ones taking he daily actions such as answering the phones, driving the trucks or serving the customers.

Leaders must oversee and guide staff members through the implementation challenges.

5. Without people engagement, implementation will fail.

After the launch of the strategy employees must embrace its execution. Many leaders forget that their staff members are seeing and hearing the new strategy for the first time.

Leaders must explain why the organization must change and then provide continued support and develop the supporting mechanisms.

6. Without the right measures in place to guide the implementation, it will fail.

At the start of the implementation it is important to identify the indicators for measuring success.

Leaders must change the measures to track the new strategy and remember to tack the “Vital Few” not the “trivial many”.

7. Culture drives the way you implement.

Two companies can have the same strategy but how they execute it will always be different.

Leaders must prioritize to create a culture that supports and encourages the implementation.

8. Implementation is only sustained when you reward and recognize individuals for taking the right actions.

Implementation will fail without reinforcement of the right actions.

Leaders must identify what motives their staff members and develop positive reinforcement while remembering money is the most expensive motivator.

9. You only know if a strategy is good or bad by implementing it and constantly reviewing the implementation.

Too many implementations are only reviewed once or twice a year. The odds of successfully executing a strategy that isn’t reviewed frequently are slim to none.

Leaders must ask, “What have you done this week to implement the strategy?” and frequently review progress.

All the best on your implementation journey.

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And why not check out the one minute video on why you only have 63 seconds in your day to implement your strategy at Life Is Too Short