You might have guessed it by now, but I am passionate about strategy execution. I feel it every time I go into a company and am told that plans are not being met because of poor execution as a result of people, or processes or even customers. We know from research that companies lose about 40% of strategy in execution, so it stands to reason that there is so much to be gained if corporate leaders simply focused on the execution of strategy. But unfortunately, research again tells us that leaders tend to spend 85% of their time on operational issues, i.e., putting out fires, rather than on execution.
With all the doom and gloom that we are reading about in the world press today, it is easy to become like the proverbial rabbit caught paralyzed in the headlights of an on-coming car, and it will take every effort to move out of the glare of the headlights and into the safety of the unknown. And that is what makes it all the more exciting. Safety can and will be found in the unknown and not in the known. Safety will be found not with what makes us comfortable but with that which makes us uncomfortable.
If companies want to survive, they will need to improve their execution. And for those of us who are passionate about execution, we will need to find alternative ways that we can bring to companies to help them execute better and faster; ways that are not complex, but are customized to suit the particular company, its people, processes and its customers. One-size will not fit all.
Yes, Siree! I am looking forward to an exciting 2012.
Yours in execution.
ian
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