As I have written in the past, behind closed doors, executive management discusses the strategy for the organization. Whether it is during a specific strategy session or during ongoing team discussions regarding the business, executive management has a clear plan for the organization (hopefully).
However, once that strategy is developed, guess what usually happens? You got it…NOTHING! Most organizations will just plod along doing what they have been doing. Every few months, executive management will review what has been done to accomplish the strategy, at which time management will bend reality to “demonstrate” progress. And, yet, when they look at the financial growth of the organization, they scratch their head as to why it is anemic.
So once the strategy is set, what are the next steps to actually get things done? Here are 4 tips that can help you convert strategy to action and drive financial growth:
- Tell EVERYONE – Company-wide communication is critical to get your message to all your employees in a timely, motivational, thorough and consistent manner. This can generally be accomplished by a, or a series of, company-wide meeting(s) (commonly referred to as town halls). Take the time to develop a clear and concise presentation that gets your message across and sets a path for the organization that all can understand. By explaining your strategy to the individual, employees begin to understand how they fit into the bigger picture and how their performance can impact the success of the organization overall.
- Develop action steps – Once you have your strategic goals, you need to begin to action them. Develop action steps to accomplish the strategy; action steps are the detail of those things that need to get done to accomplish each goal within the strategy (including the responsible individual and deadline). Creating actions that are measurable will assist everyone in ensuring progress is made toward your goals.
- Monitor progress – Ongoing, periodic management and team meetings are critical to monitor progress on a regular basis. They are also critical to address issues in a timely manner. Put in place a cadence of meetings at the various levels of the organization focused on reviewing the actions associated with the strategy so that your team is forced to focus on their accountability towards your goals. Also, take the time during these meetings to review the financial metrics to assess if the strategy is truly driving better performance.
- Hold your team accountable – “There is not enough time in the day.”; “I have too much work.”; “My dog ate my progress!”. I have heard them all (well, maybe not the last one). Expect more from your team. Agree with them the deadlines for their actions and then hold them accountable to achieve those deadlines. Your management team is where they are because they are (supposedly) the best of the best. Hold them to it! And, if they don’t accomplish what is expected of them, take action by making the changes necessary to get the right people in the right roles to accomplish your goals.
Prism Partners International can assist you and your leaders develop your strategy and deliver resulting action plans to embed your strategy into your organization. We drive results by holding individuals and teams accountable for accomplishing their goals and continually focusing on process improvement. This creates an environment positioned to effectively and efficiently manage growth and improves profitability.
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