Why your company doesn’t succeed in executing its corporate strategy
At a recent event hosted by the Institute of People Management (IPM), Marlinie Ramsamy - CEO of FranklinCovey South Africa - stated that Professor Lawrence of the Wharton Business School identified why companies don't succeed when they execute corporate strategies. This, she says, is a leader's responsibility - not something that a company's talent must address.
Some top executives don't see themselves as being responsible for implementing the corporate strategies they design. The unfortunate reality about business school education today is managers are trained to plan but not to execute. However, Ramsamy says that corporate strategy execution is:
1. A discipline and integral to developing corporate strategy,
2. The main job of the business leader, and
3. The core element of the organisation's culture.
So rather than chasing another new management fad, managers should focus on creating a culture of execution by driving their frontline talent's behaviour towards the business' highest priorities.
Corporate strategy execution is about aligning people
Ramsamy stressed that to execute corporate strategy effectively, you need to align your talent with the business' purpose. She suggested three ways to do this:
1. Let your talent play their part
Every single member of the company has a role to play in executing the corporate strategy. This means that to execute it successfully, you need to let your talent step up to the plate and feel they have a role to play in the company's greater scheme.
In her presentation, Ramsamy related the story about the head of Nasa who - when the space organisation was in the space race with the Russians in the 1960s - used to walk on the shop floor to chat to the space agency's employees. When he asked the janitor what he felt he was doing there, the janitor proudly announced: "I'm helping put a man on the moon!"
2. Ensure you're all on the same page
Clarify your talent's expectations. Let them know what they're there to do, what their key purpose is and align your systems so that people understand these.
3. Communicate the corporate strategy and get buy-in
Your talent will support a corporate strategy that they've helped to create. Be confident to broadcast your stated value effectively to drive frontline actions even when no-one's looking. Leaders don't realise how important it is to help your talent realise that different activities in the organisation require different behaviours.
Keep tabs on your customer-facing talent
The more intel you get from the frontline of your organisation, the more effective your strategies will be. But be warned that even when you've aligned your talent, communicated your corporate strategy and your organisational values, and everyone knows what they're committed to, unless you keep your corporate strategy up to date you'll end up right back where you started.
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Lia Marus is the editor of HR Pulse. She has a BA in French, Italian and Linguistics from UCT, an MA in translation from Wits and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the Wits Business School. She is currently studying towards her LLB through Unisa. Lia started her career off in corporate communications, where she worked as a sub-editor, researcher and marketing coordinator. She then heeded the call of the publishing world and went into the business-to-business publishing field. She worked as a sub-editor as well as a chief sub-editor. Before joining ITWeb, she managed an HR guidebook at a leading international publishing company. |
