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#120: Triangulation

In executing strategy, we bring about change. Sometimes, this change seems to come easily, other times, it feels really, really hard. We divide our time between understanding how to make change easier (process) and actually making change happen (output).

Things start to happen when:

• There is a need (real or perceived). The person who invented the phrase 'no pain, no gain' (pun intended) had a lot of foresight! A 'need' is foundational. If an investment is made without inventing or discovering a need, nothing is going to happen, or something bad is going to happen (think 'failed projects' and 'wasted resources' and 'frustration').
  
• Resources are applied to fulfill the need. Sometimes even a little bit is enough. At other times, even a lot is not enough.
  
• The timing is right. This is intangible but often crucial element. Finding the right timing is part science, seems mostly art. It requires the right mixture of intuitiveness and experience and risk taking ability to spot 'timing'.
  

Does having all three ensure success? A lot could go wrong in execution, nothing can be taken for granted. Needs or priorities may change, leaving assumption about timing in shambles.

The point being, after identifying critical success factors (3 examples are given above) and evaluating them individually, try 'triangulation' as an additional step to assess the readiness for change and success.

#119: Approaching complex problems

When walking thru a thick fog towards your destination, without a light, how do you proceed?

Many complex problems seem that way. If the stakeholder base is large and the culture is collaborative, there is churn. Discussions seem to be endless and at times, pointless.

If the destination is unclear or not agreed upon, efforts will not be coordinated. Everyone will assume a different destination and pull resources in different directions.

A productive way to proceed is to agree upon the next 3-5 steps. Reconvene to ask if the destination is clear. If not, agree upon the another 3-5 steps.

Speed is not critical when the destination is unclear. Safety is essential.

#118: Why bother with 'taxonomy'?

It would seem that professional managers focus on 'doing' and academics focus on 'knowing'. Somehow, the two audiences are able to communicate and collaborate to improve the 'doing' and the 'knowing'.

By creating a definition and taxonomy for the activities in strategy execution, it makes it possible to identify what is broken or, if everything is working :-), what needs to be tweaked to go to the next level.

One of the first things that need to be clarified is the difference between 'strategy' and 'strategy execution'. Setting overall strategy (low-cost, differentiation, market focus) is the first step. The strategic objectives are specific statements of intent, aligned to the overall strategy.

'Strategy execution' is needed to convert these intentions into reality. In the course of execution or implementation, there is a feedback loop, where lessons learnt are then applied to improving strategy. This feedback loop is in place for all organizations that look to learn from their successes and failures.


Strategy definition and execution are 'always on' and consist of a set of clearly identifiable activities. These activities are performed every day, by all organizations. If these activities are performed without understanding what they are and how they are interconnected, the opportunities to systematically eliminate roadblocks in converting strategy to reality are harder to discover.

#117: What is 'strategy execution'?

Here is my attempt: "The processes that convert business strategy to operations. 'Business strategy' is the choices made (and excluded) in creating value (can be explicit or implicit). 'Operations' is the on going (steady state) effort to deliver value to customers."

This will cover all the steps from discovering/inventing value to actually delivering it to customers. In explaining this, concepts such as 'in the business' (create value using existing processes), 'on the business' (improve processes) and 'transform the business' (move the business to an entirely new ground) need to be explained.

I am looking forward to comments and learning from other perspectives.

#116: Types of meals

There are 3 types of meals:

• A grand sit down dinner, with real cloth napkins, silverware and possibly, candle lights! The company around the table is polite and well mannered. All in all, its a wonderful, relaxing experience. You don't have to do anything other than be present and enjoy yourself (and pay the bill). Someone cooks the food, serves it and cleans up after.
  
• A meal you cook yourself allows you both flexibility in preparation and the experience of a creative joy. You decide what to cook, when to cook, how to cook and how to serve and eat it. You also have the choice of who to eat it with. You have to make the effort to get the ingredients to make the meal.
  
• A frozen dinner. You take it out of the freezer, heat it and eat it. It is the ultimate in convenience and speed. Very, very handy when you are tired and not in the mood to cook and don't want the expense of eating out. A variation of this is the 'take out', 'order in' or 'to go'.

Information is consumed in one of the three ways listed above. When executing your strategy, getting the right information to the right person at the right time can mean the difference between moving things forward or getting stuck and spinning your wheels. Communication gaps are like serving the wrong type of meal to the wrong audience.

#115: Art? Science? Business? (Yes!)

If diversity is the norm in strategy execution, it is necessary to try and understand preferences in crafting a solution. The artist will try to make the solution look beautiful, the scientist will make the solution work correctly and repeatedly and the business person will try to make money from it.

All three have to come together. Too much time and energy gets wasted in debating the virtues of one approach over the other. The comparisons are pointless even at a theoretical level.

Align efforts to customer outcomes and to what needs to be done to meet and exceed expectations. The leader's preference tends to be imposed on the team and egos will be bruised if they are not able to appreciate and work for the greater good.