Bridging the Gap Between Strategy and Execution

'With quality circles, just-in-time delivery, KanBan, SPC, capability studies, ISO 9000, TS 16949, Six Sigma, Black Belt training and lean manufacturing, our enterprise has enjoyed significant improvements. But nothing singularly or in combination has created the amount of traction gained by our enterprise as the implementation and use of the KeyneLink strategic execution management system."

Steven Bryant, CEO, Bryant Rubber Corporation

What we think .. (STRATEGYLink blog.)

From Strategy to Execution - Delivering on the CEO's Promises ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

This article explains what a strategy execution management (SEM) system should do for the CEO - and where you can find one. The article won the prestigious Alan G Ross Award for Writing Excellence awarded by the Financial Management Institute of Canada. Click here for the full article.

SEM, the CEO and You ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

If the CEO has a more important job to do than creating the strategy, communicating it throughout the organisation and making sure it is properly implemented, I'd like to know what it is. Click here for the full article.

SEM, the Deputy Minister and You ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

If the Deputy Minister has a more important job to do than creating the department's strategy, communicating it throughout the organisation and making sure it is properly implemented, I'd like to know what it is. Click here for the full article.

You Can't Solve the Performance Management Problem without First Solving the Strategic Execution Problem ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

For decades we have been told that effective "business planning" is the key to organizational success. It certainly helps, but less often have we been told that even the best business plan is almost useless without a first class execution of the activities described in it. Click here for the full article.

Performance Appraisals Don't Ensure Strategy Execution ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

What if managers could conduct their performance appraisals throughout the year and manage the performance of their organizations at the same time? And what if the CEO could easily direct the whole thing as part of his strategy execution process? This is exactly what KeyneLink does.  Click here for the full article.

Competencies Are Not Enough! ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

Competencies might be superb, but if they are not applied directly to the execution of the strategy, they are less valuable then they might be. Click here for the full article.

Build Businesses Not Hamburgers! ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

Ray Kroc didn't get rich selling McDonald's hamburgers - he got rich selling franchises to other folks who got rich selling McDonald's hamburgers. Click here for the full article.

Using explicit rubrics for opportunity assessment ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

A rubric is a means of adding clarity, objectivity, transparency and rigour to an evaluation or rating process where the criteria are essentially qualitative or intangible ... Click here for the full article.

Using Explicit Rubrics to Measure and Improve the Performance of Charitable Foundations ... by Chris Jones, StrategyLink

The explicit rubric approach has a long and successful history in evaluating the performance of organizations, programs and projects in many sectors. ... The methodology has the potential to significantly improve foundation performance and change the way individual and comparative performance are measured. ... Click here for the full article.

What others think ..

The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution, Gary Neilson, Karla Martin, and Elizabeth Powers, Harvard Business Review, 2008

A brilliant strategy may put you on the competitive map. But only solid execution keeps you there. Unfortunately, most companies struggle with implementation. That‘s because they over rely on structural changes, such as reorganization, to execute the strategy.  Follow this link for the full article

Strategy Execution: An Oxymoron or a Powerful Formula for Corporate Success? ... by Peter S. DeLisi, President, Organizational Synergies

Strategy execution is a dismal failure in most corporations. If military teams and professional athletic teams performed as well on strategy as corporations do, they would lose the war and end up on the bottom of the standings respectively.  Click here for the full article.