This is about continually reviewing and researching internal and external conditions periodically / once a year to learn of new opportunities, threats and competitive conditions that may need a strategic course shift.

This step includes linking every employee to the business unit and the corporate strategy and making everyone in the organization understand strategy and be motivated to help the organization achieve its objectives.

Making Strategy a Continual Process

To help the client put into practice the final step of building a Strategy Focused Organization: “Making Strategy a Continual Process,” CLCI helps the Senior Leadership Team to develop and implement a governance process. Governance includes:

1. Resource Management

   • Budget is driven by strategy

   • Planning is linked to strategy

   • Portfolio of strategic initiatives is aligned to themes

2. Key Process Management

   • Process improvement is aligned to strategy

   • Best practice sharing is in place

3. Learning & Control

   • Review and adapt strategy

   • Data and analytics guide strategy

CLCI always encourages the Senior Leadership Team to prepare well for the meetings:

Quarterly BSC Governance Meeting:

• Ensure that all data gathering and reporting is complete before the meeting.

• Discuss the progress of key action items in the meeting

• Re-prioritize as required; stop/re-position failing actions

• Identify and form new initiatives where needed to achieve objectives

• Ensure proper resourcing; break-down silos and work as a team

Annual Strategy Review:

• Completely review of the entire Strategic Framework: Vision, Mission, Values, Corporate Goals, and Critical Success Factors, and make adjustments as necessary

• Re-visit Objectives, Measures, Initiatives etc for alignment with Corporate Goals and Vision, and make adjustments as necessary

• Review roles and accountabilities, and make adjustments as necessary

CLCI always prompts the SLT to avoid the following behaviors at meetings:

• Show up to the meeting unprepared

• Review the Objectives/Initiatives and Measures for the first time in the meeting

• Discuss each measure in detail in the meeting – one after another

• Discuss performance out of context (i.e., without considering the Objectives and causal relationships)

• Get mired in unnecessary detail – “Analysis Paralysis”

• Re-hash old issues over and over

Executive Behavior in a Strategy Focused Organization

• Management communicates strategic performance expectations -- does not control behavior

• Management has fact based discussions about strategy, learning how to interpret and act based on imperfect information

• Feedback and learning are critical to ‘making strategy a continuous process’

• Management has a key role in enabling the performance of the workforce

When Strategy works well:

• The Senior Leadership Team leaves functional / silo bias at the door

• The discussion is about strategic issues, not necessarily particular measures

• The conversations are constructive, not focused on blame. Management’s job is to enable performance

• There is a strong willingness to take ownership to resolve and address issues impacting performance

• There is preparation and follow-through

• The meetings are structured and well-managed

When Strategy doesn’t Work Well

• Same old behaviors – not willing to change

• Too much focus on the measures, not enough thoughtful analysis of issues and implications

• Not properly resourced

• Used as a political tool – who to blame for poor performance

• Wait until 100% perfect, not iterative and improvement focused

• Put aside when ‘things get busy’

Fixed Events:

• Monthly MIS report:

  • Care has to be taken not to create duplicate reporting

  • Base on Business Line/ Departmental performance on KPI targets, organized by Strategic Objective

• Quarterly BSC Governance Meeting:

  • Ensure that all reporting and data gathering is complete (KPI Owners, before meeting)

  • Discuss the progress of key action items

  • Reprioritize as required; stop/reposition failing actions

  • Identify and form new initiatives where needed to achieve objectives

  • Ensure proper resourcing; break-down silos and work as a team

• Annual Strategy Review:

  • Revisit mission, vision, objectives, KPIs; review for alignment with strategy

  • Complete review of the entire framework; make revisions and adjustments as necessary

  • “Take a step back” and review roles and accountabilities

BSC Coordinator:

CLCI encourages the Senior Leadership Team to consider creating a Corporate Strategy Office with a enthusiastic member acting as Corporate Strategy Officer, who besides her/his other duties, does the following:

• Ensures all performance data is gathered and assembled

• Finalizes Targets

• Manages the Measures in detail

• Prepares Monthly Reports

• Liaises with contributors to Measures data

• Documents meeting outcomes

• Maintains rolling issues and actions list

• Ensures education is available when questions arise

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