Bridging The Strategy Execution Gap

Why is it so difficult to bridge the gap between strategy and execution?

• Execution represents a disciplined process that enables an organization to take a strategy and make it work.

Only recently have people started thinking,

"If we execute better, if we integrate long-term and short-term better, if we translate strategic objectives into short-term objectives, if we measure incentives and controls and feedback, we'll execute better, we'll perform better, and we might even gain a competitive advantage because very few people in other companies are so well-versed in execution."

"The biggest mistake managers make is trying to change culture. They try to convince people to change their attitudes. They tell people that something has changed, and they have to act differently. Well, this doesn't work. In order to change culture, don't focus on culture; focus on changing people, incentives, organizational structures and responsibilities, and controls, such as performance appraisals and feedback.

By changing the elements of execution, you're changing culture."

BOTTOMLINE: Sustainable business excellence demands a simultaneous view of strategy and execution.