Strategy Formulation vs. Strategy Execution is like architecture and construction:  equally essential, and wholly interdependent.  One cannot fulfill without the other.

Without good blueprints, the house you build will be ugly and sub-functional, maybe dangerous (sounds like too many enterprises we all know, right?).  With good blueprints but bad construction, the house you build may be nice looking, but certainly sub-functional and definitely dangerous. 

Practically speaking, while both Strategy Formulation and Execution have their challenges and difficulties, we’ve seen…   Read more

When it comes to paying incentives/commissions/bonuses, at a high level, we’ve seen success with the general rule “reward individuals for events, reward teams for processes”.  But, there’s more precision needed to make incentive compensation plans produce the optimal strategy-aligned results.

Using the wrong metrics and incentives as they relate to both customer and workforce expectations, and to market/competitive conditions, will not yield desired strategic outcomes.

From our vantage point, incentive/bonus/commission compensation plans need to reflect not just overall enterprise strategic objectives, but also local market/channel Customer, Product and Employee Lifecycles; including full consideration of cross-dimension Customer, Employee, Market/Competitive Profiles.    Read more

I read a Discussion on LinkedIn recently where the question was posed: what do you think about the effectiveness of Strategy-Driven Execution?

When the dizziness passed and I got back up into my chair, my primal response was:  hold on… is there anything ELSE that should conceivably be driving business process Execution, except Strategy?

And, if you have an answer for that other than ‘no’, then all my mind can visualize is…     Read more

Tracking & Reporting Individual Workforce Member Day-to-Day Performance: How Does Your Organization Do It?

Successful strategy fulfillment depends on effective strategy execution, and that depends on accurate, timely and relevant communication, and use, of performance objectives and results information (among other things, of course). 

What specific process and technology enablers does your organization employ to put “Strategy on the Street” and make it work?

While Financial Resource Management (FRM) and accounting generally have very coherent and internally consistent processes and procedures, most workforce-related initiatives and processes are fragmented, inconsistent, and often contradictory; sometimes in open conflict.

To succeed, organizations must implement and sustain full alignment of human resource, technology, and line of business process initiatives and activities, with complete rigor and integration.

In the same way that enterprises have worked to organize themselves across lines of business to be “Customer-Centric”, so too should they do so across administrative and functional lines of business (through line and staff, front- and back-office) to make processes and procedures universally “Employee-Centric”.  This will optimize workforce Certainty at all points, and achievement of desired performance results.   Read more