Shared by Jeroen Kraaijenbrink on LinkedIn
Why do strategies fail? And why do they fail to be effectively executed so often? These are the seven deadly sins of strategy execution.
Time and again, research shows how difficult it is to generate and execute strategy. From the many lists of causes, I like this one by Johnson, Scholes and Whittington in their bestselling strategy textbook “Exploring Strategy.”
As they report, there are seven main failings in strategy and change management. They are the seven deadly sins of strategy execution:
• Death by Planning. An overemphasis on analysis and on planning the strategy rather than on delivering it, with the result that the organization never really gets into execution model.
• Loss of Focus. Executing a strategy takes time and continuous effort. After the big bang introduction, attention to the strategy erodes while everyone is returning to business as usual.
• Reinterpretation. People adopt the terminology used in the new strategy but use it to describe what they already were doing. The effect is that there is no real change.
• Disconnectedness. This happens when the strategy is purely based on top management’s perception ...
