Top 5 Fundamental Traits of Organizational Effectiveness

"The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution" was published in the June 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review, based on a survey of 26,000 people in 31 companies.

In the article, the authors defined execution as "...the result of thousands of decisions made every day by employees acting according to the information they have and their own self-interest."

They also identified the top 17 fundamental traits of organizational effectiveness. Here's a quick look at the top five:

1. Everyone has a good idea of the decision and actions for which he or she is responsible.
2. Important information about the competitive environment gets to headquarters quickly.
3. Once made, decisions are rarely second-guessed.
4. Information flows freely across organizational boundaries.
5. Field and line employees usually have the information they need to understand the bottom-line impact of their day-to-day choices.

BOTTOMLINE: The decision-making processes and information flow in every organization are critical. Raise the importance of these factors through recognition and reward are easy ways to improve organizational effectiveness, leading to better strategy execution.