Prepare for Strategy Delivery with a BIG Readiness Model

It is a matter of fact that organisations find strategy delivery difficult. While search engines offer statistics, our own events have provided a very good perspective.

We suggested in one event that some organisations seem to expect 'magic to somehow happen'. In other events we highlight the disconnect between projects (change) and strategy, and others we highlight the difficulty balancing change and Business As Usual. In some - it is as if you can't criticise the way strategy is managed without criticising the strategy or the person that owns it.. For example:

We know the reasons. We know who to "blame" - but if we start pointing fingers and throwing stones - well, we don't need that.

We need to improve Strategy Delivery - but we don't want a fight, so it's easier to keep quiet?

It is understandable how things can just continue along without getting addressed.

Instead - how about engaging colleagues in a reflection exercise using respected principles, helpful challenge questions and examples of what 'bad' looks like to achieve a common appreciation of current strategy delivery capability? Do it without making accusations, causing embarrassment or fighting.

Strategy Delivery. How do you picture it?

For many organisations asking 'what is your strategy information model' or 'what is your strategy operating model' causes a very puzzled look - and the accusation of 'irrelevant geek' being cast back at you. But the realty is - not many of us can draw the structure of our strategic information, or picture how our strategy management happens. Which is a worry - as - what confidence can there actually be that strategy delivery is effective if it can't even be visualised?

Defining / maintaining a mental model of how strategy delivery works is not an academic exercise. Perhaps one reason why strategy delivery is so problematic is because we don't have a realistic information and operating models and therefore we do not really understand our overlaps, collisions, strengths and weaknesses?

How to get this going?

One step can be to take a BIG Readiness Assessment to identify the strength and nature of the governing ecosystem, so whether you are evolution or revolution – you know where you can move forwards from…

While broad and deep, it asks questions for which the answer is either "we do this already', "we do some of this', 'we don't to this'. The questions themselves will get people thinking, and the feedback from it can start the discussion of 'what next?'. Perhaps this can be the trigger to do something....?

The BIG Maturity Model is available for people to run themselves, or have us conduct in a short, facilitated workshop.

Hence, if you:

- are seeing strategy delivery failure - or want greater results

- want a different basis for your next strategic plan

- are reviewing your busienss plan prep for next FY

- are about to undergo merger or acquisition

- want to make sure you are balancing value today and value for tomorrow

...it makes sense to baseline where are, from which you can identify areas to improve, sustain or consolidate.