Originally appearing in the Winter 2023 issue of Carrier Management, today’s article is a perfect follow-up to last week’s article on filtering strategic initiatives.
While there has been some improvement in the last 20 or so years, strategic implementations still represent a significant challenge for many organizations, regardless of industry.
Failed strategic implementations can be an albatross around a company’s neck, especially in the current turbulent business environment. I would even go as far to say that it represents the biggest threat or risk most companies face and one that certainly doesn’t get the attention it deserves. In fact, I have never heard of this risk being included in the risk modeling or scenario analysis performed by companies!
As stated in another Carrier Management guest article from 2022, most resources focus on the planning part of strategy and not the implementation. That particular piece provided a birds-eye view of how to successfully implement strategic goals…today’s article zeroes in on one of the reasons why strategic implementations fail: lack of agility.
Being able to pivot quickly as conditions warrant is an increasingly vital skill in today’s world…
However, when a company has too many goals (which results in too many initiatives), agility can be hard, hence a breakdown in the implementation phase.
The guest article linked below discusses this challenge, how it happens, and provides what seems like a counterintuitive way to address it. Companies taking this counterintuitive path have been able to better ensure their long-term success.
Although written to the journal’s primary audience, insurance company executives, the subject is relevant to companies of any size in any industry.
Click the image below to access the full article.
Why Strategic Implementations Often Fail and the Counterintuitive Way to Address It
As we get ready to close out the year, I want to take a moment to thank Carrier Management for allowing me the opportunity to publish this and other articles aimed at helping their target audience better manage their companies for success. I look forward to publishing additional articles with the magazine in 2024 and beyond.
Do strategic initiatives often fail at your company? What do you think might be the reason for this short fall?
As always, I’m interested in learning more from my readers. To share your thoughts on this important and oft-overlooked topic, please feel free to leave a comment below or join the conversation on LinkedIn.
And if your company is struggling to successfully complete initiatives and don’t know where to begin addressing the issue, please don’t hesitate to reach out to start a conversation.
