3 Benefits of Translating Your Strategy
By Chris Cox
Most executives or managers are unable explain their company’s business strategy. They may own their function and fully understand their department, but in terms of the whole-business strategy, they’re in the dark. A translated strategy is one that has been broken down so that every executive and manager in the company knows exactly what the company is trying to accomplish. It also means that every executive and manager knows exactly how the decisions they make will drive the execution of the strategy. Clarifying your strategy is often a critical first step toward resolving a host of business issues. Fiscal performance, excellence in execution, and key-player retention are all affected by the clarity of the strategy translation.
Benefit # 1: Money
When your key players’ understanding of the strategy is opaque, execution is imprecise. Imprecise execution is often characterized by chasing the wrong opportunities and spending money on the wrong initiatives. Chances are good that people who are spending money on the wrong solutions are probably not spending money on the right solutions. The double whammy–spending money on the wrong things while the right things go undone–is a direct consequence of unclear strategy.
Benefit #2: Execution
From the perspective of informed leadership, there is always a hierarchy of importance. When faced with big challenges–like opening new stores, updating distribution networks, focusing the sales team on a particular market, or integrating IT assets—something has to come first. Without insight, well-meaning executives and managers often take on work assignments that are not essential to the company’s realization of its strategy. Sometimes this can be known as, “the urgent driving out the important.”
Benefit #3: Retention
Nothing is as frustrating as not knowing why you failed. Employees want to contribute to their company’s success. The more people understand the big picture, the better they will feel about their individual contributions to its success. But when people are unaware of how their contribution is making a difference, they toil in obscurity, are easily frustrated, and often become cynical—completely disconnected from the meaning of their actions. Fortunately, the opposite is also true. When executives and managers understand how their decisions at the margin are affecting the company’s trajectory, they are more fulfilled by the work they do everyday. They understand the meaning of it all, and they are more likely to stay with their company over the long haul.