Avoiding Strategy Hallucination

Karl Moore is an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford University where he teaches an Advanced Leadership Programme alongside Henry Mitzberg. He is also the 'Rethinking Leadership' contributor on Forbes.com, where he recently reviewed FranklinCovey's book on the 4 Disciplines of Execution, and his reflections will strike a chord with many

All too often when we teach strategy to MBA's, 95% of the time is spent on the theory of strategy, while at best 5% is spent on execution. While in the real world, for the majority of people it is the exact opposite. 5%, maybe 10%, is spent on strategy, while 95% is focused on executing our strategy. 

But stop for a moment and ask yourself; which is more difficult? Implementing your strategy or executing that strategy? It is without a doubt that your immediate response, at least for most, was "Execution!". While there are many books that discuss the importance of creating and implementing a strategic plan in order to be successful, there are few out there that really nail it on the head on how to execute it. Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling in (FranklinCovey's) new book The 4 Disciplines of Execution have successfully done just that. They argue that by increasing the importance of execution, one will be able to produce extraordinary results. 

Organisations today are in a constant state of adaption; they are seeking to achieve strategic organisational change and focusing their efforts on execution rather than strategy is one of those ways. However, the authors argue that the problem that many executives face is: "Why is execution so difficult?". Often, it is because we, as leaders in our organisations, have been taught for many years how to think strategically. We are not knowledgeable in the area of execution; therefore, making it difficult for us to implement. 

Mike Roach, the CEO of CGI (a 31,000 person IT firm) tells our MBA students that "Strategy without execution is hallucination". He's right (and) that's where the beauty of the 4 Disciplines of Execution lies. It get's straight to the point by offering 4 direct disciplines for companies to follow in order to improve their execution process. 

Having worked with the 4 Disciplines material within FranklinCovey clients over the past 4-5 years, it’s easy to recognise the comments that Karl Moore makes as true. One particular example, at a conference with a group of 100 company leaders from across Europe, Africa & the Middle East, was striking. When asked, 'How many of you have studied strategy?' >90% responded positively, but <10% raised their hands when asked 'And how many of you have studied strategy execution?' - and this was just after their regional president had told them that "Execution will make the difference"!.

Working with this group within their sub-areas subsequently was very rewarding, as we helped them to narrow their focus and to translate their key priorities to the front line in a way that ensured clarity and engagement. We then worked with them to accredit local managers in the 4 Disciplines of Execution process so that everyone could be supported and held accountable in making a contribution to the strategic priorities on a weekly basis in a manner that felt inclusive and which continued to build engagement levels.