Why strategy execution falls apart and what your brand can do about it
Business leaders know that even the best strategies are useless unless they are implemented. And most acknowledge that they don’t implement well.
So where is it all going wrong? Stay tuned and we’ll look at three critical pressure points where implementation often fails, and how a brand-driven organization can address each one.
An Economist report a couple of years ago underlined the issue’s importance. Of the hundreds of c-level leaders surveyed, nearly 90% stated that strategy implementation was a major success factor, and over 60% said their own efforts in this area were lacking. The minority of companies that got implementation right far outperformed the others in terms of growth, the report also found.
Pressure point 1: Executive involvement and support
Implementation trouble starts at the top. The Economist report found that executive buy-in and support was identified as the number-one factor for successful implementation. Poor implementation happens when c-level leaders either fail to frame the implementation effort in a way that communicates its importance, don’t stand behind the implementation effort beyond its launch, or try to micromanage the process.
Pressure point 2: Middle management muddle
Middle-management typically receives a strategy from top management in raw form – often a woefully uninspiring Powerpoint deck – and are responsible for putting the strategy into context for operational levels below. They tend not to be very good at this, so they make do with setting arbitrary targets and directives that meet fierce resistance down the line.
Pressure point 3: Execution-level motivation
People at the bottom of the implementation cascade are known for pushing back against change. There are always a few self-starters who will leap into an initiative with both feet but the bulk of the rank and file, unable to see clear meaning in a strategic change, focus on the risk and how a change interferes in their daily routine. So they drag their feet and implementation suffers.
What do brands have to do with all of this?
First, we’re talking about corporate brands here, not product brands. And by corporate brand we mean the core purpose of an organization, defined in the form of a value proposition to customers, and formalized in a way that is simple, compelling and memorable. In other words, we’re not talking about a logo but rather the brand as a highly strategic discipline that can serve as a powerful link between strategy and implementation.
Let’s look at how brand-oriented thinking can be applied to each of the implementation pressure points.
1. Brand solution for executives: from strategy to strategic purpose
By linking strategy to the organization’s core strategic purpose, executives can harness the power of the brand to turn a dry Powerpoint document into a compelling call to action. At every level of the implementation cascade down through the organization, the strategy remains explicitly bound to the central “why” that drives the organization forward. Strategy objectives are expressed using brand language and imagery, making them memorable, emotionally resonant and always customer-oriented.
2. Brand solution for middle management: context in a box
When the strategy comes down to middle management wrapped in the brand, the job of contextualizing the strategy for the operational level is already practically done. In a brand-driven organization, operational people are accustomed to using the brand as a touchstone – a simple test to judge whether or not any change is consistent with the overall corporate direction. Middle managers need only ensure that the touchstone is faithfully applied to implementation efforts.
3. Brand solution for execution level: from random change to meaningful progress
One of the brand’s most useful superpowers is its ability to shine the light of purpose down to every level of the organization. When accountants or carpark employees or design assistants at Disney can look at a proposed change in work processes and see for themselves that it helps further the corporate purpose of “creating happiness for others”, that makes buy-in immeasurably easier.
Brands aren’t a foolproof cure for all implementation problems. Many strategic initiatives fall by the wayside because internal skills and resources for implementation are lacking or for other operational reasons. But strategies are just as likely to fail because they wander off the path and get lost – the organization loses sight of the purpose of the proposed change and motivation for implementation seeps away.
This is where brands can help. By keeping the path of corporate purpose sharply defined and well lighted at all times, the chances for successful strategy implementation improve.
