The 'Execution Gap'

Lawrence G. Hrebiniak, Professor of the Department of Management at the University of Pennsylvania once wrote, "The problem with poor performance typically is not with the planning, but with the doing.' The fact is - strategies often fail because they are not executed well which would tend to support the research undertaken by The Conference Board (2007) which found that the #1 challenge of CEO's was 'excellence in execution.'

Generally, there is a gap between what a company's leaders want to achieve (through strategy) and the ability of their organization to achieve it.' This 'Execution gap' often leaves leaders shaking their heads in disbelief because in their haste to fix poor execution, they tackle the symptoms and not the root cause of the problem.

A case in point - a company that we did work with was not meeting its sales targets so they decided to launch a series of promotions. Sales increased as you would expect but they still did not reach the targets that the management team had committed to in the Business Plan. Throwing additional funds into the pot to chase sales and then not getting the anticipated uplift put added pressure on the CEO and sales director and resulted in the company cutting costs elsewhere in the organization. After undertaking a very quick Strategy Execution Health Check on the company, we found that not only were there serious breakdowns in communication within the company (easily fixed), but that the company's inherent processes were also derailing any efforts that were considered over-and-above the standard day-to-day sales activities (short term exceptions rectified this issue). In other words, the company's own processes were working against it rather than for it.

The take out in all this is that once you have completed your strategic plan make sure you have a very clear understanding of the 'execution gap' that exists in the organization. And believe me - all companies have an 'Execution Gap.

ian

Comments

[Skip Reardon]

A place to take this kind of survey is here: https://sddcviis02.sixdisciplines.com/3400_1/SDBSWeb/Survey.aspx?ID=3273

[insect repellent]

I am very happy to see a blog like this. It is very interesting. Keep it up! Nice Articles.

[Ian Campbell]

My thanks to Mr. Reardon and 'Insect Repellent' for their feedback. Although I do intend to review the link that Mr. Reardon has recommended, I have not yet done so but I know of the Company,and the work they do and they are a very professional bunch so if you are wanting to measure the 'execution gap' in your organization, it may well be worth the effort to look at the link.
ian