Planning and Execution Strategies

In the traditional business landscape, strategy formulation often takes precedence over execution. However, what if reversing this order could unlock greater success? Here’s why focusing on execution first can be a game-changer for organizations: 1. Real-World Insight: Prioritizing execution allows organizations to gather practical insights and align strategies with actual conditions. This ensures plans are based on real-world data rather than theoretical assumptions. 2. Continuous Learning: Execution fosters a culture of continuous learning. As organizations implement their strategies, they collect valuable feedback, allowing them to refine their approaches and adapt to changing circumstances. 3. Adaptive Flexibility: In today's fast-paced market, adaptability is crucial. By emphasizing execution, organizations can quickly respond to market changes, ensuring their strategies remain relevant and effective. 4. Stakeholder Engagement: Early execution involves stakeholders directly, fostering a sense of ownership and alignment. This collaborative approach ensures everyone is committed to the same strategic goals, reducing resistance and enhancing commitment. 5. Tangible Outcomes: Focusing on execution drives measurable results. This practical emphasis ensures that strategies are not just theoretical exercises but are translated into actions that generate real value for the organization. How to Use This Info: 1. Analyze Your Current Context: Before diving into strategy design, thoroughly understand your organization’s current situation. Align your strategy with real-world conditions and constraints. 2. Learn from Past Initiatives: Review significant projects and initiatives from the past year. Identify what worked and what didn’t. Use these insights as input for your strategic planning. 3. Identify Immediate Actions: Even while formulating your strategy, identify actions you can take right away. There’s always something you can start doing. Implement these actions and adapt as you learn. 4. Engage Stakeholders Early: Develop early initiatives that engage stakeholders. This helps build commitment and alignment. Use these early initiatives to gather feedback and improve your approach. 5. Focus on Measurable Results: Aim for early, tangible outcomes. Use these initial successes to demonstrate accountability and to show that your strategy is practical and effective. While strategy formulation is crucial for setting direction, focusing on execution first highlights the importance of turning plans into action. By executing and learning from the process, organizations can refine their strategies, enhance their chances of success, and achieve sustainable growth.

The team The Good asked 5 product strategy experts about making the most of annual planning. Here’s how to start 2025 on the right foot. We all know annual planning is crucial for aligning your organization and setting the stage for success. Yet, most don't do more than just set a few annual goals. Instead, the experts we interviewed recommend considering these essential strategies: 1. Establish a compelling vision Leadership should articulate clear, inspiring goals for teams to rally behind. 2. Synthesize company-wide insights Gain a comprehensive understanding of challenges and opportunities across all departments. 3. Incorporate user perspective Leverage customer feedback and data to inform planning decisions. 4. Extract lessons from past initiatives Conduct thorough reviews of previous experiments, paying special attention to failures as learning opportunities. 5. Leverage data for prioritization Utilize robust analytics to assess potential ROI and secure stakeholder buy-in. 6. Foster transparent communication Ensure every team member understands how their individual contributions align with broader organizational objectives. 7. Commit to ongoing research Implement systems for continuous gathering and analysis of customer insights throughout the year. 8. Emphasize key objectives Empower employees to make decisions that directly support overarching company goals. 9. Embrace flexibility Build adaptability into your plans to respond to changing market conditions or unforeseen challenges. 10. Celebrate milestones Recognize and reward progress to maintain motivation and momentum. By seamlessly integrating strategic vision with tactical execution, you'll create a solid foundation for the year ahead.

🚀 After 29 years in leadership, if there’s one misconception I’ve encountered time and again, it’s this: Strategy and Planning are NOT the same. Yet, many professionals use these terms interchangeably. Understanding the difference can define whether a business thrives or merely survives. 🔹 Strategy = The What & The Why A strategy is the big picture, the overarching vision that sets the direction. It answers: ✅ What are we trying to achieve? ✅ Why does this matter? ✅ How will we create a competitive advantage? A well-crafted strategy guides decision-making, ensuring every action aligns with a larger purpose. Example: A company wants to dominate the e-commerce space. Their strategy? Focus on hyper-personalization, faster delivery, and an AI-driven shopping experience. 🔹 Planning = The How & The When A plan is the execution roadmap—the detailed steps needed to implement the strategy. It answers: ✅ How will we achieve our strategy? ✅ When do we execute each step? ✅ What resources and actions are required? A plan breaks strategy into actionable steps but remains flexible as conditions change. Example: If hyper-personalization is the strategy, the plan might include: ✔ Implementing AI-powered recommendations in the next 6 months ✔ Hiring 10 data scientists by Q3 ✔ Launching same-day delivery in top 5 cities 🔹 What Leadership Taught Me About Strategy vs. Planning After nearly three decades in leadership, I’ve seen organizations struggle when they confuse the two: ❌ Too much planning, no strategy = A well-structured action plan leading nowhere. ❌ A great strategy, no planning = A vision that never turns into reality. The best leaders balance both. Strategy sets the vision, and planning brings it to life. Key takeaway: Strategy is about winning the war, while planning is about winning individual battles. Both are essential, but they serve different purposes. 💡 What’s been your biggest lesson in strategy vs. planning? Let’s discuss in the comments! 

Strategy without execution? Just a nice idea. If you want real results, you need a system that connects the two. That’s what the Execution Premium Process (XPP) is designed for. Here’s how it works (and why it matters): 1. Bridge the gap between planning and doing → Use strategy maps and scorecards to align teams → Break big goals into clear daily actions 2. Link strategy to budgets and operations → Fund what matters—don’t just hope it gets done → Keep dashboards focused on results, not noise 3. Build in continuous improvement → Monthly reviews and feedback loops → Use lead + lag metrics to stay on track → Stay flexible with scenario planning 4. Keep strategy alive → Create an Office of Strategy Management (OSM) → Ensure strategy survives leadership changes 5. Proactively manage risk → Spot threats early with Strategic Risk Indicators → Adjust plans before problems become costly Want to bring strategy to life? Start here: • Build a structure that connects goals to action • Review regularly and refine often • Make sure your strategy has a home, not just a slide deck > “A great strategy is nothing without follow-through.” P.S. Follow me for more strategy tips.

If we're going to be effective with the execution of our organization's strategy it's going to hinge on the skills and capabilities of the leaders and managers we entrust with accomplishing it. The difference between a good strategy and its successful implementation lies in the hands of those who consciously lead others, recognize what's happening, and don't see giving up as an option. Here is what that takes: Articulation of Vision. Effective leaders possess a clear vision of desired outcomes and communicate it compellingly, ensuring everyone understands their goals and how to achieve them. Transparent Communication. Regular, open communication is essential. Managers who keep teams informed about progress, changes, and challenges foster a culture of trust and engagement, listening to feedback and responding to concerns. Goal Alignment. Effective managers ensure individual goals align with key initiatives at every level, breaking down the strategy into actionable plans for each department, team, and individual. Resource Allocation. Successful leaders allocate and manage resources—time, budget, and talent—efficiently, investing where needed to support critical aspects of the strategy. Clear Expectations. Winning at strategy execution requires clear expectations and performance standards, defining actions, metrics, and milestones to guide teams. Accountability. Leaders inspire accountability by supporting their teams, reviewing performance, removing obstacles, and helping them get unstuck when needed. Agility. Strategies require adjustment in response to internal and external changes. Leaders who pivot quickly ensure their organization remains on track despite unforeseen challenges. Problem-Solving Skills. Effective managers anticipate obstacles and develop contingency plans, addressing issues promptly to minimize disruptions. Regular feedback loops help leaders assess progress and make necessary adjustments. Empowerment and Collaboration. Effective leaders empower their teams by delegating authority and responsibility, this builds trust, ownership, and innovation, while enhancing cross-functional collaboration. Continuous Learning. Investing in training and development enhances your team's skills and capabilities, equipping them to execute at high levels daily. We recognize that all of this represents a significant amount of work. However, integrating these attributes into a dynamic process can make them disciplined habits that can lead to the results you need. What are you currently doing to enhance your people's understanding of strategy and its execution? #CEOs #Leadership #Strategyexecution #Attribute

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥? How many strategies have you been involved in over your career? Do you remember any strategies that were a success? Harvard conducted a study in 2005 that listed all the reasons strategy executions fail—see the diagram below. I think they were wrong. THE WHIRLWIND The real reason execution fails is that the people on the front lines responsible for the change are too busy and have conflicting measurement systems. They do not have time to "figure out" what McKinsey wrote in a strategy plan and how that translates to doing their jobs differently, and leadership does not incentivize them to implement the new strategy. What I am referring to is the “whirlwind." The whirlwind of urgent activities required to keep things running day-to-day sucks the time and energy out of those on the front line. ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH STRATEGY Strategy consultants don't have to implement the strategy. They get paid regardless. Many consultants only know about the "what" and "why," but few know "how." Andy Grove, CEO of Intel once told a young Clayton Christensen of Harvard: "Tell us how to do it, not what to do. I know what to do." The "how" is the grind. It is where the sleeves roll up, and the action takes place. The book, The 4 Disciplines of Execution, can make your strategy execution successful. _________________ See the video I posted on this topic: https://lnkd.in/eDyDE6RA _________________ The 4 Disciplines of Execution require four disciplines: 1. SET WILDLY IMPORTANT GOALS (WIGS) Focus on one or two wildly important goals. But read on; this is just the beginning. It may seem like the end, but now we get into the HOW. 2. ACT ON LEAD MEASURES. Don't focus on LAG measures - the monthly sales report, the quarterly ops report, or the monthly quality report. Instead, focus on one or two LEAD measures that affect the LAG measures. Allow the department or team to determine which one or two, maybe three, LEAD measures they can influence to drive the LAG. Think of losing weight. The scale is the LAG measure. The LEAD measures are calorie counting, which involves counting the food you eat and calories burned through exercise. 3. KEEP A COMPELLING SCORECARD Think of the Football or Baseball scoreboard. Only a few indicators on the board tell you if we are winning or making progress. Allow the team to develop and display it so everyone can see it. 4. CREATE A CADENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY Each week, measure the one or two things each person must do that align with the goal. Follow these four disciplines, and your strategy execution rate of success will increase drastically. Your partner in success, Joe Murphy 📽 Stay tuned for 5 PM leadership and success videos (M-F) ➕ Join me in my quest for higher levels of performance 🔔 Ring the bell for new posts 🌟 Cool to repost #leadersatalllevels #highachievers #TheLeadershipAcademy

Are your leaders stuck planning or sprinting with no direction? In high-performing enterprises, leaders must excel at both. Vision without execution is architectural planning without engineering. Impressive on paper, immobile in practice. Execution without strategy means busy teams with no alignment. The result? High effort, low strategic impact. For CHROs, developing leaders who balance strategy and execution is key to building cultures of sustainable performance. The ability to close the gap between vision and execution depends on three enterprise capabilities: ⇢ Alignment ⇢ Focus ⇢ Adaptability When leadership teams share a clear purpose and are empowered to act with accountability, execution accelerates and engagement deepens. But when execution overwhelms intent, purpose fades and growth plateaus. To help your leaders close this gap, ask: ⒈What is one critical objective that will move our strategy forward this quarter? ⒉What does this objective reveal about our real priorities? ⒊What behaviors at the leadership or team level are enabling or impeding execution? ⒋How will we surface and address those behaviors? ⒌Who are the most credible leaders to own this objective? ⒍How will we enable, support, and hold them accountable? ⒎How will we measure and communicate progress across the organization? CHROs and CPOs shape the systems that develop leaders. They architect the mindset that connects strategy to action and action to results. What are you doing to build strategic executors across your leadership pipeline? ♻️ If this sparked an insight, please consider reposting to support other HR leaders navigating this challenge. 🔔 Follow me, Michelle Awuku-Tatum, for leadership insights on: ↳ on culture, team dynamics, and human-centered growth.

The Execution Gap: Why Brilliant Strategies Often Fail The glossy strategic plan sat impressively on the boardroom table, meticulously researched and beautifully presented. Six months later, we were nowhere near our targets. This scenario has played out countless times across my career, teaching me a lesson that transformed my approach to leadership: Strategic thinking without execution mastery is just expensive daydreaming. While many businesses invest heavily in developing compelling strategies, far fewer build robust execution muscles—the disciplined processes and operational excellence that turn plans into reality The execution gap appears in predictable ways: • Initiatives that launch with enthusiasm but fade without accountability • Resources spread too thin across too many strategic priorities • Teams unclear about how their daily work connects to the bigger picture • Leaders who excel at planning but struggle with implementation follow-through In scaling my previous company, I discovered that execution isn't just about working harder—it's about building systems that drive consistent results despite the chaos of rapid growth. The most successful leadership teams I've built or coached share a critical trait: they balance visionary thinking with relentless focus on making things happen. When evaluating leaders now, I prioritize their track record of execution over almost everything else. A brilliant strategist who can't cross the execution gap will rarely outperform a good strategist who excels at implementation. As your company grows, the complexity of execution increases exponentially. The organizations that scale successfully aren't necessarily those with the most innovative strategies—they're the ones that master the unsexy, disciplined work of getting things done. What's your ratio of strategic thinking to execution focus? The answer may reveal your most critical growth constraint. For more insights on building execution excellence in growing organizations, connect with me: Bruce Eckfeldt

Project Managers and business Leaders Are Confusing Strategy with Planning. Would you board a plane without knowing the destination and the reasons for heading there? I guess not. Then why do so many leaders build detailed plans without a clear strategy? Strategy sets the course. Planning gets you there. Yet, too often, organizations and project professionals obsess over execution before defining their strategic north star. The result? Busy teams, wasted resources, and minimal impact. Before you focus on the how, ask yourself: Do you truly know the what and more so, the why? Let’s break it down. ⬇️ 🪀Strategy is the “What” and the “Why” It’s the overarching vision, the North Star guiding your decisions. It defines what you aim to achieve and why it matters. Strategy involves key choices about where to compete, how to differentiate, and how to create long-term value. 🪀 Planning is the “How” Once strategy sets the direction, planning takes over. It’s the tactical execution—outlining the actions, resources, and timelines to achieve strategic goals. Without a strategy-first approach, even the most detailed plan risks efficiency without effectiveness! The Problem? Many Organizations Start with Planning Instead of Strategy. 🚫 They focus on deadlines before direction. 🚫 They build roadmaps before defining the destination. 🚫 They prioritize execution over differentiation. 🔍 Research from Harvard Business Review (HBR) highlights that 67% of well-formulated strategies fail due to poor execution. However, the root cause isn’t always execution—it’s the lack of a clear, well-communicated strategy in the first place. Only when both align can you achieve a quantum leap in impact and sustainability. 🛫What’s your next move—refining your plan or redefining your strategy? Let’s discuss. 👇 ♻️ Repost to help others in your network and follow 🎙️Fola F. Alabi for more content. 📌 Try my free newsletter: Think Louder Strategic Leader Join thousands of leaders and subscribe at: https://lnkd.in/gfibh6tg #FolaElevates #StrategicThinking #Leadership #Execution #BusinessSuccess #TheStrategicAdvantage Pic by Jeroen

As CIO, when I saw poor project execution, I jumped in to help fix it. Now that I’m helping business leaders with IT, I know they want IT done right, over cheap. Sure, I can help develop a strong IT strategy, but without rigorous execution, my passion, they might as well have gone with someone cheap. Ram Charan nailed it when he said, “Strategy lives on paper. Execution lives in the budget.” (His article breaks it down here: https://lnkd.in/ey95jZKx) One of our clients nearly danced in the street after we finally nailed their NetSuite implementation — on time, on budget, and done right — after two failed attempts. Those other attempts? Gorgeous plans that aligned perfectly with business strategy, but when it came time to do the work, it fell apart. That drives me crazy. Here’s what it boils down to: 1. Understand the business. This isn’t about IT; it’s about business. Tie everything back to business strategy. 2. Develop a realistic plan, then add stretch and rigor. And don’t forget proactive risk abatement. 3. Execute to the stretch schedule, stay laser-focused on risk abatement, and drive execution with relentless rigor. I could go on, but let’s grab a coffee or jump on a call instead (https://lnkd.in/evgnW3bp) to discuss what it takes to get IT right in your situation. #Projectexecution #ITstrategy #Projectresults #timit #AI