From Strategy To Execution
5 Marketplace Implementation Lessons From a Corporate Strategy Execution Consultant With 25+ Years of Experience
The best-laid strategic plans often go awry once exposed to the light of day and the rudeness and ruthlessness of reality.
Former President Lyndon Johnson understood that. He often told a story of a man who had applied for a job as a flagman at a railroad crossing. The man was told he’d be handed the job if he could pass a test consisting of just a single question
The applicant was told to imagine that he was a flagman at a crossing consisting of a single track when he suddenly observed the Continental Express bearing down from the east at 95 miles per hour. Coming from the other direction was the Century Limited at 100 miles per hour. With the trains only 500 yards apart, the man was asked, what would he do under these circumstances? Without hesitation, the would-be flagman responded that he would go and get his brother-in-law.
Puzzled, the railroad examiner inquired, “What good would that do?”
The job applicant promptly replied, “He ain’t never seen a train wreck.”
Clearly the would-be flagman didn’t understand the overarching strategy of his potential employer (prevent accidents) nor his potential role in executing that strategy. Unfortunately, this is not unlike the current state of corporate strategic execution as evidenced by the train wrecks (AIG, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, and the automotive industry) we see everyday in the marketplace.
How would I know? Well, my name is Scott Glatstein and I help companies execute their strategies in the marketplace for a living. In fact, I’ve been doing so as a corporate executive and a consultant for over 25 years.
I even wrote about strategy execution in my book, “Strategy Activation: How to Turn Your Vision into Marketplace Success.” In this book I present a breakthrough, holistic planning discipline that links strategic vision to marketplace reality.
Here’s What I Learned During My 25+ Years Executing Corporate Strategy:
1. Organizations who have mastered the intricacies of translating strategic vision into marketplace execution are, far and away, more likely to outperform competitors in key areas like:
- Revenue growth
- Profitability
- Customer satisfaction.
This is particularly true when the economy falters. When money tightens consumer confidence falls and commerce slows. As a result customer needs and expectations change. Every spending decision becomes an exercise in deploying limited resources. Whether it’s a consumer considering a night out on the town or a manufacturer trying to preserve margin the decision to spend money is not taken lightly. And the tolerance for imperfect execution melts away.
2. The old disjointed execution methods don’t work anymore.
Historically, work has been divided into two parts: strategy and execution. Top executives wrote the marketplace strategy, which always looked good on paper. Everyone else was supposed to execute it. However, many necessary steps and important questions were usually skipped over when moving from theory to implementation. For example:
- Would employees be able to implement the marketplace strategy given the new expectations placed on their performance?
- Can the company execute its strategy within its existing culture, reward system, or fundamental workflow processes and systems?
If you want to succeed in today’s difficult marketplace than you need to break down the historical wall that exists between strategy and execution.
3. Corporate strategic plans fail when there is no disciplined approach to their execution.
Strategy has to be more than a feel-good presentation shared with your managers, shareholders and the media. It has to be woven into the fabric of your organization. This means you must go beyond articulating the typical strategic plan. You must translate your marketplace strategy into specific employee roles and create the infrastructure and processes that enable them to fulfill those prescribed roles.
4. Strategy fails when companies fail to recognize that existing tools and methodologies will NOT enable success.
It’s difficult to implement a new strategy without changing the way your organization works. Too often, though, we redefine employees’ roles with little regard to the systems and processes that guide and enable their work. Your business processes and systems must meet the demands of your new strategic vision. Do your customer-facing and internal workflow processes enable the customer experience defined by your strategic vision? Do your tools facilitate communication and information sharing across the organization and enable the completion of the specific tasks that deliver your marketplace vision? Pursuing a new strategy with old capabilities is a recipe for disaster.
5. Strategy execution can improve as executives streamline daily activities and realign them so they are in harmony with the company’s overarching go-to-market strategy.
I bet every division across your organization thinks it’s different and therefore needs its own unique tools and workflow processes. In most cases that’s just not true. While customization may be appropriate in some instances, one must not lose sight of the broader organizational advantages of standardization. Consistent information and task tools support a consistent approach to the marketplace and allow employees to move seamlessly from one part of the organization to the next with less training. In short, standardization can bring more organizational flexibility and consistency to operations. And internal consistency drives consistent marketplace execution.
These difficult times call for a disciplined, thoughtful approach to execution of strategy in the marketplace. I created the Strategy Activation® planning approach to facilitate corporate strategy execution excellence. Apply it to your business and you will achieve higher revenue growth, profitability and customer satisfaction.
About the Author
Corporate Strategy Execution Consultant Scott Glatstein, President of IMPERATIVES, LLC turns market opportunities into record-breaking profits with effective marketplace strategy planning & execution. Now for the first time, with his new book, “Strategy Activation: How to Turn Your Vision into Marketplace Success,” Scott unveils his groundbreaking plan for higher strategic profits. Get your FREE SNEAK PREVIEW at: http://www.strategyactivation.com
Ram Charan – Strategy Execution Expert
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4 Disciplines of Execution: Getting Strategy Done $17.51 Used – The Four Disciplines of Execution is about a simple, proven formula for reaching the goals you want to reach as a business or individual. In Covey’s experience, the thing that most undermines the ability to execute goals is what he calls the Whirlwind: those urgent tasks that must be done simply to keep an organization alive. As Covey shows, the only way to execute new, important goals is to separate those goals from the Whirlwind. The Four Disciplines allow leaders to create a strategy t |
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4 Disciplines of Execution: Getting Strategy Done $7.76 Used – The Four Disciplines of Execution is about a simple, proven formula for reaching the goals you want to reach as a business or individual. In Covey’s experience, the thing that most undermines the ability to execute goals is what he calls the Whirlwind: those urgent tasks that must be done simply to keep an organization alive. As Covey shows, the only way to execute new, important goals is to separate those goals from the Whirlwind. The Four Disciplines allow leaders to create a strategy t |
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4 Disciplines of Execution: Getting Strategy Done $7.76 New – The Four Disciplines of Execution is about a simple, proven formula for reaching the goals you want to reach as a business or individual. In Covey’s experience, the thing that most undermines the ability to execute goals is what he calls the Whirlwind: those urgent tasks that must be done simply to keep an organization alive. As Covey shows, the only way to execute new, important goals is to separate those goals from the Whirlwind. The Four Disciplines allow leaders to create a strategy th |
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4 Disciplines of Execution: Getting Strategy Done $17.51 New – The Four Disciplines of Execution is about a simple, proven formula for reaching the goals you want to reach as a business or individual. In Covey’s experience, the thing that most undermines the ability to execute goals is what he calls the Whirlwind: those urgent tasks that must be done simply to keep an organization alive. As Covey shows, the only way to execute new, important goals is to separate those goals from the Whirlwind. The Four Disciplines allow leaders to create a strategy th |
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A Divine Assignment: The Missiology of Wendell Clay Somerville $14.99 The Divine Assignment: The Missiology of Wendell Clay Somerville is an analysis of the life, work, philosophy, and theology of Wendell Somerville. Somerville, an African American who made a substantial impact during a time of racial tension in the United States, led the work of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention for over fifty years and strove for a great global missions ministry. Learn and be enlightened as author and Executive Secretary-Treasurer for Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, David Emmanuel Goatley, takes you into the insights Wendell Somerville had about the missional church, his understanding of the missional life, and his missional strategy for the world. Read about the changing nature of global mission theory and practice from the beginning of WWII to the twenty-first century. “Through winnowing the sermons and reports of his venerable predecessor at the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, David Emmanuel Gostley offers a remarkable tribute to the missiology of Wendell Clay Somerville. Faithful in his interpretation and execution of the Great Commission, Somerville had global sensitivities that transcended any parochial understanding of the impact of the Black Church. Indeed, he believed God had entrusted the “Divine Assignment” (the privilege of proclaiming and living the Gospel for the whole world) to these who knew both oppression and the transforming power of Jesus Christ. The enduring witness and reach of the convention he served so long and so well gives testimony to his focused theology and implementation of mission. Goatley rightly discerns that there is great wisdom to be gleaned from his forebear and, in humility and appreciation, commends his prophetic missional practice.”-Molly T. Marshall, Ph.D., President and Professor of Theology and Spiritual Formation, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Shawnee Kansas |
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Automatic Exchange Betting: Automating the Betting Process – From Strategy to Execution $39.88 New |
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Automatic Exchange Betting: Automating the Betting Process – From Strategy to Execution $25.44 New |
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Automatic Exchange Betting: Automating the Betting Process – From Strategy to Execution $39.88 Used – The past decade has seen a technological revolution in facilities for betting on horse racing and other sports. From the proliferation of online information to the advent of betting exchanges, it is now possible to analyse form and betting odds, run selection systems, place bets and track results electronically. Automatic Exchange Betting examines each stage of the betting process and shows how it can be automated, with numerous examples applied to horse racing, all implemented using the |
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Automatic Exchange Betting: Automating the Betting Process – From Strategy to Execution $25.44 Used – The past decade has seen a technological revolution in facilities for betting on horse racing and other sports. From the proliferation of online information to the advent of betting exchanges, it is now possible to analyse form and betting odds, run selection systems, place bets and track results electronically. Automatic Exchange Betting examines each stage of the betting process and shows how it can be automated, with numerous examples applied to horse racing, all implemented using the |
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Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step: Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results $49.95 Organizations worldwide have employed the Balanced Scorecard and yielded swift benefits—including increased financial returns, greater employee alignment with overall goals, improved collaboration, and an unrelenting focus on strategy, to name just a few—from this revolutionary methodology. Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step, Second Edition enables your organization to reap these rewards with a strategy-focused plan including steps on: determining your guiding rationale for using the scorecard; testing your mission; building a strategy map; developing measures and targets; placing the scorecard at the center of your management system; and sustaining your success.Updated and enhanced with the latest Balanced Scorecard topics, this influential book empowers your organization to turn strategy into performance at every organizational level and translate your intangible resources, such as innovation, customer relationships, and intellectual capital, into real value. The Second Edition of Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step includes updated case studies as well as new and expanded coverage on:Strategy maps, the powerful communication tools that convey to the entire workforce (and beyond) what is most critical in executing the organization’s strategyThe linkage between the Balanced Scorecard and corporate governanceThe critical importance of “strategy-centered” management meetingsThe emerging trend of the Office of Strategy ManagementThe latest trends in Balanced Scorecard implementation methodologyPost-implementation guidanceSharing his extensive experience in developing Balanced Scorecards for Fortune 500, public sector, and not-for-profit organizations, Paul Niven takes you through the complete Balanced Scorecard journey—from creating powerful new performance measures that drive the execution of your strategy, to the tools necessary to make the Scorecard the cornerstone of |
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Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step: Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results $30.72 Organizations worldwide have employed the Balanced Scorecard and yielded swift benefits—including increased financial returns, greater employee alignment with overall goals, improved collaboration, and an unrelenting focus on strategy, to name just a few—from this revolutionary methodology. Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step, Second Edition enables your organization to reap these rewards with a strategy-focused plan including steps on: determining your guiding rationale for using the scorecard; testing your mission; building a strategy map; developing measures and targets; placing the scorecard at the center of your management system; and sustaining your success.Updated and enhanced with the latest Balanced Scorecard topics, this influential book empowers your organization to turn strategy into performance at every organizational level and translate your intangible resources, such as innovation, customer relationships, and intellectual capital, into real value. The Second Edition of Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step includes updated case studies as well as new and expanded coverage on:Strategy maps, the powerful communication tools that convey to the entire workforce (and beyond) what is most critical in executing the organization’s strategyThe linkage between the Balanced Scorecard and corporate governanceThe critical importance of “strategy-centered” management meetingsThe emerging trend of the Office of Strategy ManagementThe latest trends in Balanced Scorecard implementation methodologyPost-implementation guidanceSharing his extensive experience in developing Balanced Scorecards for Fortune 500, public sector, and not-for-profit organizations, Paul Niven takes you through the complete Balanced Scorecard journey—from creating powerful new performance measures that drive the execution of your strategy, to the tools necessary to make the Scorecard the cornerstone of |
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Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons From the Front Lines of Global Finance $24.95 Praise for Banker to the World“No one knows better nor has more and better experience across the globe over the last 40 years in diagnosing and managing risks involving sovereign countries and major corporations. In today’s world, risk is a major external element in managing the strategy of a business. This book is clearly and simply written. It’s a must for all managers and all leaders who aspire to excel in the global game.”—Ram Charan, co-author of the bestseller Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done“Bill Rhodes has been much more than a banker. As Citibanks’s long-time “ambassador to the world,” he’s been both a diplomat and a surrogate government official—for several countries. Both heads of companies and heads of state have not only sought his advice but relied on him to make deals—and he has delivered time and time again. This little book tells you how. Everyone—or at least everyone that matters in international finance-—knows Bill Rhodes. And after you read this amazing memoir, you’ll know him, and his undauntable personality, too.”—Alan Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University”…Once the immediate worry of a string of bank failures has abated, Berlin and Paris should then go about the business of restructuring errant countries’ bank loans. The global community has been through this before. For a primer, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron should read the short, breezily written but instructive book Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance…by now-retired banker Bill Rhodes, who quarterbacked numerous, complex restructurings.”—Steve Forbes, “What’s German for TARP,” Forbes.com”Rhodes’s recollections are lively and richly detailed, replete with glimpses of |
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Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons From the Front Lines of Global Finance $25 Praise for Banker to the World“No one knows better nor has more and better experience across the globe over the last 40 years in diagnosing and managing risks involving sovereign countries and major corporations. In today’s world, risk is a major external element in managing the strategy of a business. This book is clearly and simply written. It’s a must for all managers and all leaders who aspire to excel in the global game.”—Ram Charan, co-author of the bestseller Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done“Bill Rhodes has been much more than a banker. As Citibanks’s long-time “ambassador to the world,” he’s been both a diplomat and a surrogate government official—for several countries. Both heads of companies and heads of state have not only sought his advice but relied on him to make deals—and he has delivered time and time again. This little book tells you how. Everyone—or at least everyone that matters in international finance-—knows Bill Rhodes. And after you read this amazing memoir, you’ll know him, and his undauntable personality, too.”—Alan Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University”…Once the immediate worry of a string of bank failures has abated, Berlin and Paris should then go about the business of restructuring errant countries’ bank loans. The global community has been through this before. For a primer, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron should read the short, breezily written but instructive book Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance…by now-retired banker Bill Rhodes, who quarterbacked numerous, complex restructurings.”—Steve Forbes, “What’s German for TARP,” Forbes.com”Rhodes’s recollections are lively and richly detailed, replete with glimpses of |
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Battle of Palkhed $46.8 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Battle of Palkhed was fought on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam.The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy.The seeds of this battle go to the year 1713, when Ma |
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Battle of Palkhed $26.93 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Battle of Palkhed was fought on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam.The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy.The seeds of this battle go to the year 1713, when Ma |
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Battle of Palkhed $26.93 New – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Battle of Palkhed was fought on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam.The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy.The seeds of this battle go to the year 1713, when Mar |
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Battle of Palkhed $46.8 New – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Battle of Palkhed was fought on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam.The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy.The seeds of this battle go to the year 1713, when Mar |
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Battles $50.76 Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher’s book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Battle, Battle Cry, Battle at the Harzhorn, Battle of Huete, Sack of Genoa. Excerpt: Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces , wherein each group will seek to defeat the others within the scope of a military campaign , and are well defined in duration, area and force commitment. Wars and military campaigns are guided by strategy , whereas battles take place on a level of planning and execution known as operational mobility . German strategist Carl von Clausewitz stated that “the employment of battles … to achieve the object of war” was the essence of strategy .The Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler II Etymology The definition of a battle cannot be arrived at solely through the names of historical battles, many of which are misnomers . The word battle is a loanword in English from the Old French bataille , first attested in 1297, and is itself a borrowing from Late Latin battualia , meaning “exercise of soldiers and gladiators in fighting and fencing,” from Latin battuere “beat”, from which the English word battery is also derived via Middle English batri , and comes from the staged battles in the Colosseum in Rome that may have numbered 10,000 individuals.Characteristics of battle The defining characteristic of the battle as a concept in the Theory of combat has been a dynamic one through the course of military history, changing with the changes in the organisation, employment and technology of military forces.While the British military historian Sir John Keegan suggested an ideal definition of battle as “something which happens between two armies leading to the moral then physical disintegration of one or the other of them” , the origins and outcomes of battles can rarely be summarized so |
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Beating Low Cost Competition: How Premium Brands can respond to Cut-Price Rivals $34.95 “A very useful step-by-step approach to guide managers towards creating their own answers for winning against low-cost competition.” Yves Serra, President and CEO, Georg Fischer, Schaffhausen, Switzerland “Low cost competition has moved from being an out-of-the-box concept to changing the way business gets done. It is an issue for every industry and this book has insights that are practical and relevant for every manager. Adrian Ryans has put together a compelling storyline that is a must read for tomorrow’s successful leader.” Arkadi Kuhlmann, CEO, ING Direct, Wilmington, Delaware, USA “The single biggest competitive threat faced by multinational companies operating in low cost environments, does not come from the Low Cost Competitors, but rather from your company’s ability to fully grasp the massive threat in time and understand how to deal with it successfully. This book – your survival guide for dealing with low cost competitors – will enable you to understand and devise an execution-focused strategy to meet your specific competitive challenge. Make sure your CEO and country managers read this book from cover to cover.” Lars A. Andersen, President, Vestas China, Beijing, China “Adrian Ryans has clearly highlighted the challenges of competing to win in the global economy. Competitors from Asia are no longer producing low cost, low quality products that are not competitive. Rather the same companies that needed help from market leaders ten years ago and were used as low cost suppliers are now world-class competitors in their own right. Beating Low Cost Competition frames the nature of the competitive game for the next generation of executives. Answer the questions at the end of each chapter of Beating Low Cost Competition; if the answers don’t scare you today, they might |
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