The People Side of Strategy Execution
Successful strategic execution is neither a process overhaul nor a mechanical formula for efficiency. Over 25 years of working with many of the world’s leading companies, VSI Technologies has developed a framework that captures the inner architecture of exceptional strategy execution.
This equation highlights the three critical forces that power exceptional strategy execution: Alignment, Mindset, and Capability. VSI Technologies has found that companies achieve better results, faster, when the workforce is aligned to the strategy, has the right mindset to approach execution with a sense of urgency and purpose, and has mastered the capabilities needed to execute. Achieving a strategy's fullest potential requires mastering all three forces—whether you are executing at the enterprise level, or working on specific initiatives.
Achieving Exceptional Strategy Execution with Business Simulations & Experiential Learning
During strategic execution, companies invest considerable resources and leadership time towards building alignment, mindset and capability. However, town hall meetings, PowerPoint presentations and off-site events often fail to make the expected impact, as messaging gets lost in the crowd. Traditional methods rely heavily on one-way communication and create missed engagement at a deep visceral level. As a result, a strategy that sounded good in principle starts to dissipate and move in 1,001 different directions.
Leveraging customized business simulations and experiential learning tools, VSI Technologies partners with organizations in strategy execution to engage people more deeply in the strategy, accelerate implementation, and deliver business results. VSI Technologies unique approach supports the alignment, skill development and behavioral change necessary for exceptional strategy execution. For a company, the end results are quantifiable and measurable, illustrated in everything from revenue growth to increases in customer satisfaction and employee engagement.
Consider Strategy Execution without These Three Driving Forces
What would strategic execution look like without these three forces?
- To execute without first coordinating Alignment is undertaking an initiative without communicating the strategy, roles, and responsibilities to the individuals responsible for making the initiative succeed.
- To execute without developing the right Mindset means there is limited emotional commitment, the primary source of discretionary effort and employee engagement.
- To execute without developing business and leadership Capability is asking people to do something new without providing the tools needed to be successful.
Harness all the critical components of exceptional execution to generate better results, faster.
What is Strategy Execution?
Strategy execution is defined as the practice of bringing a strategy to fruition. Companies regularly cite strategic execution as a top priority, but few agree on how to make it happen. According to VSI Technologies Strategic Execution Framework, there are three critical forces that drive exceptional execution: Alignment, Mindset and Capability. Companies achieve better results, faster, when people understand the strategy and its implications at an individual level (alignment), are excited and passionate about the strategy (mindset), and have the skills and confidence (capability) to execute.
Focusing on the people side of strategy increases ROI by
A recent study by the Boston Consulting Group showed that focusing on strategy alignment could result in an increase in Return on Investment of as much as 12.5%. The majority of leaders would agree that strategy execution starts with good strategic alignment. But surprisingly few can articulate a shared description of what their strategy is, much less what makes it distinctive. As a result, no one is clear where and how their actions contribute to the strategy’s execution.
Partnering with firms in strategic execution, VSI Technologies develops customized strategy and business acumen simulations to achieve high levels of organizational alignment. Through these experiential learning tools, VSI Technologies ensures that people are able to clearly and succinctly articulate how their actions contribute to the strategy. Applying a results assurance methodology in all client engagements, VSI Technologies maximizes the business impacts of strategic alignment.
Mindset Drives Strategy Execution
Mindset is perhaps the least understood, but most important driver of exceptional strategic execution. It is the turbo-boost in the execution engine. Frequently undervalued and dismissed as soft or intangible, mindset delivers real business results.
In strategy execution, emotional commitment is critical. Employees will only adopt a new initiative if they believe that it is the right strategy. Traditional approaches to communicating strategy (such as road shows or PowerPoint decks) have proven notoriously ineffective for winning the hearts and minds of employees.
However, discovery-based, experiential learning, inherent in all VSI Technologies solutions, effectively builds emotional commitment and encourages discretionary effort. Through first-hand experience, employees realize the value of the strategy for themselves. The result: a strategy is adopted with a sense of urgency and purpose, maximizing business outcomes. Proven successful at many Fortune 100 companies, experiential learning is increasingly applied to drive the optimal mindset for efficient strategic execution.
Capability: Accelerate Mastery Through Experiential Learning
Successful strategy execution often requires new skills and capabilities among leaders and employees. The idea of building capabilities to tackle new business challenges isn’t revolutionary. But here’s the surprise: A few capabilities accelerate strategic execution and deliver a lot of business impact. This means that rather than engaging in the exhausting task of developing a generic and overly broad competency model, firms can get better results, faster, by targeting and developing a small number of high leverage behaviors that directly impact strategy execution.
During strategic execution, VSI Technologies partners with organizations to accelerate the mastery of the critical capabilities needed for effective execution. Customized business simulations and experiential-based solutions change high-leverage behaviors and enable effective strategy execution.
VSI Technologies helps organizations become better at strategic execution by leveraging custom strategy and business simulations to create a workforce that is aligned behind the strategy, has the right mindset to approach it with purpose and urgency and is able to quickly master the capabilities necessary to execute; E = AMC™.
Strategic Execution Capabilities
Top Corporations Benefit from Strategic Alignment and Execution Consulting
Uniquely focused on experiential methodologies, technologies and tools, VSI Technologies engages people and organizations in the implementation of strategy that drives capability and action.
What Business Challenges Are You Facing?
Leading global companies turn to VSI Technologies when faced with one or more challenges. Which of the business challenges at your company would benefit from better, more focused strategy implementation?