Growth Kamran on 16 Apr 2008 07:12 pm
Building Momentum for Strategy Shifts
FORTUNE magazine, all the way back in 1982, found that 90% of all new strategies fail because of flaws in their implementation. The magazine, eager to investigate how information systems and connectivity changed the way business was practiced in the intervening 20 years, repeated the survey in 2002. Surprisingly, their second survey produced nearly identical results.
The logical conclusion?
-Information networks and advanced systems increase productivity, but cannot create buy-in among managers and employees about strategic shifts. Creating buy-in, then, is at least as important as the fundamental strategy itself and, unfortunately, is not as simple as hosting a series of “inspirational” or “communication” workshops.
Managers and employees, if they are to implement a new strategy, need to know what it means specifically to them, and it must be phrased in actionable terms. In practice, this means detailing the precise way in which the work day will change as it pertains to each employee.
Many software systems are currently available that provide this feature and, if a company does not currently use a CRM, ERP or CPM, the process can be completed (albeit with significant effort) manually. Once this information has been created and distributed, a company can start building consensus and creating momentum for the strategy. Anything less is asking employees to begin “cheerleading” for an abstract concept. The success rate of that strategy, at least according to FORTUNE, is less than 10%.