When you invite a lot of guests to dinner and the food preparations are behind schedule, tensions begin to rise. Guests get hungrier and crankier. To keep the guests calm and stop them from leaving, appetizers are provided. To keep the guests away from hunger, spread out the appetizers and don't serve it all at once.
What does this have to do with 'Strategy Execution'?
When managing enterprise class programs to execute strategy, the same situation comes up. High stakes increases stress levels, large budgets raise the risk, coalitions of high profile stakeholders have to be built and nurtured, complexity has to be unraveled and lots of dots have to connect. A lot of work has to be done before anything tangible or useful can be produced.
In the meantime, to keep sponsors, stakeholders, partners and team members engaged, send out frequent updates and sound bites. Town halls (less frequent) is a good way to get everyone to meet and greet (even virtual town halls have value).
Avoid leaving anyone in the dark (panic or passivity sets in), celebrate good news (no matter how small) and do not delay sharing the bad news. Radio silence may cause you to lose credibility; you lose momentum, it takes time to get it back and use it to your advantage.
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