From Strategy Sign Off to Execution Next Steps

Your strategy has been signed off by your manager, CEO or the Board. You’re ready to move forward.  What’s next?

You’re now committed to an innovative or ambitious new direction. You need to deliver. You’re naturally worried about execution risk. Concerned about how you will get your already-busy team on board.  You may be feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead of you.

What are the first things you do as you go from approval of your strategy to implementation?

John called me with this same problem (details changed for privacy purposes). He’d got sign off from the CEO and now needed his team to execute a new digital strategy. But they looked at him blankly when he asked them to come back to him with plans. That’s when he reached out to me for external help.

I worked with him and his team over a period of 12 months to turn the strategy into concrete results. They weren’t used to a strategy of this scope and scale. We started to create that PULL effect amongst the staff and stakeholders. I also coached the Program Manger that John nominated to set up an ongoing execution approach. He gained a huge confidence boost as their plans came to life.  Delivering an early, strong ROI helped build further “PULL”, enthusiasm and momentum.

Created by Lisa Carlin X DALLE

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3 tips of what you must do once your strategy is signed off.

1. Ensure all your people understand the strategy and why you’re doing this. If you’ve done a good job at involving them through the strategy development process then this step is already covered.  (For a refresher on this, see Stay out of Dark Room Strategy by Dr Norman Chorn and myself.)
2. Figure out what the barriers are to execution. In John’s case it was partly the skill and confidence of his team in knowing how to approach a broad strategy to narrow down exactly what to do. I often find people just don’t know where to start, which is why I developed an on-demand program on how to go from a blank page to a brilliant plan.
3. Identify the enablers to the strategy, the things you have that can make you successful, and build on them. In John’s case one of the enablers was promoting one of his team into a program manager role, pairing him with an external strategy execution coach so he had the guidance he needed to get the program set up for success.

Whether you have a focused strategy on introducing a new innovation such as AI, a people-oriented culture change or a whole new corporate strategy, the first step is often the hardest.  These 3 tips apply to all types of strategies, and I hope will help you get started in creating a PULL effect in your business.

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Quote of the week

“Overthinking —> Write

Uninspired —> Read

Scared —> Take one risk

Stuck —> Walk

Tired —> Sleep

Confused —> Ask

Frustrated —> Move

Burned out —> Day off

Impatient —>Review progress

Unmotivated —> Remember your “why”

By Greg Isenberg, entrepreneur