Many leaders of organizations put themselves in a difficult position by trying to tackle too many complex issues at once, too quickly. In this blog, Dolf L’Ortye, co-founder of Summiteers, calls on those responsible for strategy execution to engage in dialogue with their leaders about simplifying and slowing down. Make clear choices, plan realistically, and communicate clearly about priorities. This will ultimately lead to greater success in executing the strategy and bringing it to fruition much faster.

Wiring the winning organization

A while back, I stumbled upon an article about a book: Wiring the winning organization by Gene Kim. It features the diagram below, which reminded me of the dynamics we often encounter in our conversations with executives responsible for strategy execution.
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Frustration all around

We frequently see organizational leaders maneuvering themselves into a very difficult position. There’s a strategy in place, and it needs to be implemented. All sorts of things are happening, and they’re all happening at the same time. Projects, programs, and then there’s also the day-to-day operations where changes are being made and things are running as usual. There are dependencies, but they aren’t clearly defined. They’ll become clear when they become clear… Let’s just get going. The issues and challenges that need to be addressed to realize that strategy seem too complex; people want to wrap things up too quickly, and it all has to happen now. This is partly because several sub-strategies are being implemented simultaneously to achieve the corporate strategy. These are good initiatives in and of themselves, but usually not at the same time. As a result, all sorts of dependencies arise. It simply becomes too much for one person to manage. Frustration all around; arguments over priorities and a lack of a sense of progress. What then? The answer is twofold: simplify and slow down. That sounds easy but, in practice, requires determination and discipline.

Simplifying

I know, especially in large companies, simplifying is easier said than done. It means you have to make choices. Serious choices. What is truly important, and what—and often who—has to wait? In practice, however, we often don’t make conscious choices. Managers who play the game the smartest and shout the loudest get priority. Survival of the fittest at the corporate level. Whether that’s actually best for the overall direction of the company remains to be seen. “But hey, we might not have the full picture, but at least something’s happening!” is what you’ll hear. Simplification requires an in-depth analysis of the issues, together with the people who really understand them. Map out the heads of the many-headed monster. That’s how you unravel the dependencies and determine the correct sequence. Only then can you prioritize, make real choices—and that can sometimes be a tough call. A high-potential manager might be working on a project that isn’t a priority right now, and that’s not something they’ll like. But what’s more important? This is how you filter out “the hassle,” thereby making it more manageable. Break the issues down into small enough pieces that people can grasp them.

Slow down

Once you have a clear picture of everything, it’s important to slow down—when necessary, of course. How often do we hear someone casually throw out a delivery date without any idea of what actually needs to be done? “This will be done in 10 weeks!”—even though there isn’t a single plan in place yet. Don’t just blurt out that something will be finished by a certain time; plan realistically. Take the time to finish things, learn from them, and keep getting better. Of course, that sounds counterintuitive in a world where everything has to be done quickly, but that’s exactly the crux of the matter. Often, people work with—too—ambitious timelines. The question, however, is: is this feasible and what is the effect it will have? Unnecessary pressure, making decisions too quickly, failing to build support, and so on. All of these factors ensure that, if you actually want to change something, it won’t succeed or will be delivered far too late. Slowing down means planning realistically, though of course you can still be ambitious.

Telling the hard truth: communication is crucial

It is up to the people responsible for strategy execution to tell the hard truth. It’s not always a thankless task, but it is crucial to success. They must engage in dialogue with the management team, which wants everything done faster and constantly puts pressure on the process by failing to make decisions. Talk about the importance of simplifying and slowing down. Explain that while it may sound daunting, it ultimately leads to a massive acceleration in strategy execution, simply because it eliminates a great deal of unnecessary hassle and frustration. Frustrations and the resulting escalations cost too much time, often result in losing people, and do not contribute to actually carrying out the actions needed to make your plan a reality. They only lead to hassle, and that is exactly what you can prevent by simplifying and slowing down.

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