top of page

Closing the gap between execution and strategy

Mark Tarchetti

For the better part of 20 years, I have held two season tickets at Manchester United.  The last decade has been painful to say the least!  There’s a famous cliché in soccer, “it’s the hope that kills you”….  A couple of weeks ago I attended a game we were “sure” to win, only to see us lose it at the last minute.  The worst aspect of the game was the team’s lack of understanding.  It seemed like no one knew where they were meant to be and as a result there was little trust or effective interplay between the players.  I began to think of all the parallels with the strategy execution gap that many organizations suffer.  This is the most difficult part of any strategy and we’ve all made many mistakes with it.  Here are some things I have learned, often the hard way, and how I now think about it as a result. 

 

The first reflection is perhaps counter-intuitive.  As you jump into execution mode, it can be very tempting to translate the ideas into a set of tasks.  Of course, specific actions will need to be clear, but I urge you not to see strategy as simply the sum of the parts.  Instead, if it is designed well, it should be much more akin to a multi-year campaign.  While a soccer team tries to win every game, that simply won’t happen.  Instead, serial winners will position to be competitive in every championship with a focus beyond the individual matches to the overarching objective.  Many things will change, forcing adaptation.  Optimizing one game or one month won’t win a multi-month championship.  So, it is true in business.  Many of your actions will fail or need to be adapted.  Competitors will surprise you and I think we have learned in recent years that the macros can play a big and unexpected influence.  Design and manage for the medium term and don’t think a set of short-term results will achieve the campaign objectives.  Strategy by addition doesn’t lead to anything but incrementalism in the end. It often wastes both time and opportunity. 

 

What follows from this is a second learning that, in my experience, really distinguishes the winning teams.  When strategy execution works it is because everything becomes instinctive.  The knowledge, understanding and belief in the strategy is so strong it becomes an instinctive guide through the vicissitudes of short-term results.  When things change, it is obvious what the right reaction is because everyone knows the relative priority of metrics and desired outcomes.  Everyone knows what is most important to long-term value creation.   Teams that have institutionalized the strategy need many less fire-drill meetings to deal with events.  Even more importantly, the clarity of the roadmap creates a confidence and resilience that can be very powerful.  Strategy clarity begins to strengthen execution and a virtuous circle begins. 

 

Third is the balance of talent.  Strong teams depend on each other.  Executing big plans will mean recognizing everyone has a role to play but also that they are stronger for their colleagues’ contribution.  Not everyone can operate in the same part of the pitch and at different times, different skills are needed or prioritized.  Generalists covering too much of the pitch changes from being a commitment “badge of honor” to being seen as the weakness it really is.  Right people, right roles and right focus is how strategy gets executed well.  Expertize valued and combined.  The balance of the blend is the crucial focus of leaders, not doing the doing or obsessively monitoring KPIs.  Build a team ready to express themselves and pursue the ambitious goals you all signed up to.  Let them loose on the opportunity.

 

Finally, the biggest accelerator of all.  Trust.  Knowing your team knows the playbook.  Knowing they know how to react when things change instinctively.  Knowing your team has mutual respect for each other’s talents and their specialisms.  Knowing your team is committed to the cause.  Micro-managing is absent because it wouldn’t add any value.  Rhythm and confidence enhance momentum and make the team harder to beat.  An identity emerges that creates a sense of pride and belonging.  While things go in cycles, these winning teams seem to make the cycle last longer and longer.  Success breeds success.

 

The next time you are discussing strategy execution in the boardroom, think on some of these dynamics.  Don’t get lost in PowerPoint promises and task details.  Spend the time instead on the clarity of the campaign.  The instinctive responses you want to nurture in leadership.  The balance of the team and building trust to maximize the effectiveness of the players on the field.  Spend as much time here as you did on the logic of the strategy.  It may be very different to how you’ve operated in the past, but that might just be where the incremental value is. 

bottom of page