Mastering Strategy and Execution: A Proven 7-Step Guide to Achieving Success

In a recent Forbes Magazine article, Jeroen Kraaijenbrink , a recognized expert in strategy and leadership, raised a critical question: "Why do we still struggle with strategy execution despite countless academic studies and numerous failed projects?" Similarly, in Harvard Business Review, A. Belk Olson highlighted the common issue of business strategies failing to launch. With statistics showing that 60-90% of strategic plans never fully materialize, it's clear that something needs to change.

Navigating Turbulent Times

Leading an organization and successfully managing a business has never been easy, and today's rapidly changing landscape only adds to the challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with geopolitical shifts, environmental concerns, and evolving technologies, has created a perfect storm for businesses. Navigating these obstacles is exhausting, and executing a successful strategy in such conditions can seem daunting.

Why Strategies Fail

Many organizations invest significant effort in developing their strategies, often launching them with great enthusiasm, only to witness waning interest and, ultimately, failure. It's a familiar story, brilliantly depicted by cartoonist Jim Hunt. To prevent your strategy from becoming just another failed project, let's explore the common mistakes that often plague strategies:

• Disconnected from Reality: Some strategies lose touch with the real world.

• Overlooking Crucial Factors: Important aspects of the business get neglected.

• Vague Goals: Strategies set overly broad, distant objectives.

• Lack of Engagement: Company-wide involvement and enthusiasm are missing.

• Executional Discipline: Strategies often lack the discipline needed for execution.

The Keys to Strategy Success: 2 Conditions - 5 Competencies - 3 Phases - 7 Steps

How do you build and execute a winning strategy? How do you turn your vision into reality while engaging your team? This is where 'At the Helm' steps in. Drawing from 30 years of real-world experiences and lessons learned, I've distilled a practical guide aimed at helping business leaders excel in strategy and execution. The goal of 'At the Helm' is clear: provide the tools to supercharge your strategy, engage your teams, maintain momentum, and achieve your vision!

For a strategy to succeed, it must meet 2 vital conditions: it must be holistic and dynamic. Without these, any strategy is destined to fail.

Holistic Strategy

A holistic strategy considers all relevant internal and external factors impacting the enterprise. To achieve this, we've identified 5 Critical Business Competencies:

1. Operational Efficiency

2. Talent Optimization

3. Product/Service Fit

4. Sales & Marketing Effectiveness

5. Prudent Financial Stewardship

This competency-based framework drives both the strategy preparation and creation phases, and is at the core of the "At the Helm' strategy model.

Dynamic Strategy

A dynamic strategy is flexible and can adapt to changing internal and external factors. Achieving this requires discipline, which is the cornerstone of the strategy execution phase.

The 'At the Helm' 7-Step Strategy Model

Let's delve into the 'At the Helm' 7-step strategy model, divided into 3 phases:

A. The Strategy Preparation Phase (Steps 1-4)

Step 1: Understand the current state of the enterprise or 'Who are we?'

• Gather objective and, equally important, subjective data to create a current snapshot of your company, considering how employees, clients, competitors, and other stakeholders perceive your organization. If done right, you might be in for a couple surprises.

Step 2: Develop the vision for the business or 'Where are we going?'

• Specify five pivotal elements that compose the vision, providing a vivid portrayal of your company's future, including a clear timeline, specific measurable results, product/service offerings, desired perception, and geographical reach.

Step 3: Craft the business value proposition or 'Why would clients choose us?'

• Create a value proposition that clearly communicates how your company delivers unique products or services that address your clients' pain points.

Step 4: Define the business strategy statement or 'How are we going to get there?'

• Summarize, in no more than a couple sentences, the general actions needed to reach your vision.

B. The Strategy Creation Phase (Steps 5-6)

Step 5: Develop the Tactical Plan

• Assess your organization based on the Five Critical Business Competencies. In this chapter I describe each of the competencies in detail and share many real-life business experiences that can help you how to go about it.

Step 6: Finalize the Initial Tactical Plan

• Identify a wide range of action items, group them by competency, analyze their impact using the value gap analysis (current vs. strategic values), and refine the list to approximately 25 high-priority action items.

• Subsequently, establish timelines, priorities, and ownership for each of the action items.

C. The Strategy Execution Phase (Step 7)

Step 7: Execute, Measure, Adjust, and Repeat

• Implement the initial tactical plan, continuously measure progress toward completing the chosen action items and making adjustments when circumstances require. This iterative process, repeating the 7-Step cycle, retiring completed action items, and introducing new ones, steadily advances your tactical plan toward realizing your vision.

In summary, the 'At the Helm' 7-step strategy model is a proven, practical 'how to' guide designed to significantly increase your chances of success. I invite you to leverage this model to supercharge your strategy and excel in execution. Discover more in the book 'At the Helm - The 7-Step Guide to Excel at Strategy & Leadership,' available on www.atthehelmstrategy.com and Amazon.

About the Author

Alec Couckuyt, an economist, seasoned business strategist, published author, and speaker, brings a wealth of international management expertise gained in Belgium, Canada, Germany, and the United States. He has held senior positions at esteemed organizations such as Agfa, TC Transcontinental, Symcor, Canon Production Printing and Fujifilm Graphic Systems. He currently serves as the President of Maracle Inc, a commercial printer based in Oshawa, ON, Canada.