Execution is an odd word. On the one hand, it means “the carrying out of a plan or course of action.” On the other, it means, “the carrying out of a death sentence.” When leaders “execute a strategy,” they usually mean the former — putting an idea into action. But those efforts all too often end up meaning the latter. Execution is often where strategies go to die.
Is Execution Where Good Strategies Go to Die?
Execution is often the place where good strategies go to die. But it doesn’t have to be. As you’re developing your strategy, take into account the thinking styles and mental models of the people who will be responsible for its execution. Involve them in the process of creating the strategy, to generate a sense of ownership and to tap into their collective wisdom. Strategy is inherently about creating something new or getting somewhere new. But we often can’t process something that is completely unrelated to what we already know. So craft a narrative that connects the past to the future, and design metrics that focus attention and motivate behavior around what will make the strategy successful. Those metrics should center on questions such as: How many experiments are we able to run per week or even per day? How well are we connecting the various forms of capital across the business? How rapidly is our ecosystem growing? How easily can people share data across the enterprise? These are much better indicators of whether you are truly aligning strategy and execution for digital disruption.