Innate Strategies
2 of the top 3 challenges (66%) faced by executives today are—excellence and consistency of execution.

The Conference Board report, "CEO Challenge 2007: Top 10 Challenges."

"…the majority [of executives] (62%) admit that their organizations are only moderately successful—or worse—at strategy execution."

Only "3% of executives say their companies are very successful at executing corporate strategies…"

2007 "Keys to Strategy Execution" survey by American Management Association (AMA).

A fundamentally new perspective on closing the execution gap and getting results


The Execution Gap


If you're like most leaders, you see clearly what's needed, but actually causing the results you want – when you need them – is your ultimate, seemingly impossible, challenge. In an organization filled with smart, well-intentioned people, why is getting the results you want so hard to do?

It's this gap between what needs to get done vs. what actually gets done that gets in the way of effective, consistent execution. And it's a significant, frustrating, and costly problem for CEOs and their teams.

According to a 2007 Conference Board survey of CEO's, 2 of their top 3 challenges are with execution. In a 2007 global survey by the AMA, 62% admit that their organizations are only moderately successful — or worse — at strategy execution. Clearly execution is a critical issue.

Execution Gap – the symptoms


In our experience, the execution gap shows up as a failure to:
  1. Understand what connects with what, when, where, how, and how much. More
  2. Solve chronic, unresolved conflict: the "blame game," reality gaps, etc. More
  3. Manage the impossible challenge: either/or is now both/and. More
  4. Realize that what you can't "see" will hurt you: quick fixes vs. root cause. More
  5. Agree on what to do, what not to do, and what to "stop" doing. More

Execution Gap – the root cause


If these are the symptoms, what's the root cause?

That same 2007 AMA global survey spoke to the "pivotal role of clarity," citing that "'creating a clear strategy' was ranked as the single most important practice." In a word, clarity lies at the root of these symptoms.

It's getting to clarity that has enabled our clients to move:
  • From uncoordinated, ineffective execution to integrated, rapid execution
  • From conflict and the "blame game" to aligned, committed action
  • From "best guesses" to the right decisions – at the right time
  • From "quick fixes" that hide the problem to resolving the root cause
  • From inconsistent performance to sustained results
In every case, the benefits of our approach enabled our clients to cause the results they wanted (see what our clients say).

Our perspective on clarity and execution is boldly different: we won't necessarily tell you what you want to hear; but we will tell you what's possible.

And, our promise is boldly different. Our clients don't pay unless they achieve the results they want.

So, if you want to cause results in a way you've always thought possible, contact us for a fundamentally different perspective.
Seeing the complex interrelationships in your business "system" can be very difficult for a leadership team focused on their functional areas/expertise. And insight into that connectivity is critical; failing to clearly see and assess the impact of a decision across the organization has a negative impact on execution efforts and increases costs significantly.
Conflicting goals, making decisions that are good for one functional area but not for the company as a whole, reality gaps, and differences in perspectives that end in the "blame game" and "personality conflicts" are deadly obstacles on the path to successful execution.
What used to be an either/or proposition is now both/and — you have to deliver both quality and cut cost. And on top of it all, your organization has neither the time nor the resources to do both. When you try to meet the challenge — in an environment characterized by status quo thinking, seeing and operating — it seems impossible — but it doesn't have to be.
Quick fixes are a natural impulse to address immediate problems. What we can't see is that a symptom of the problem is not the root cause. When the root cause is still alive and well (and kicking), you can pretty much guarantee that the symptom will show up again — causing another problem somewhere else – getting in the way of execution before we even realize it.
In doing their best to execute, functional teams often amass a list of the 10, 20, or more initiatives they believe are required to get just their part of the job done — and when you have 10 teams, that's 100+ initiatives. These herculean lists keep everyone frantically busy, but not necessarily focused on what has the most impact for the business. Without clear relentless focus on the few critical issues, execution becomes disjointed and starts heading toward disaster.