Website design By BotEap.comOnce your company’s strategic plan is complete and a “growth roadmap” has been established, it’s time to execute it. But unfortunately, the reality of business, with all its pressing concerns, can quickly cause plan execution to fail. The answer is not to try harder or make the plan an urgent priority. Instead, the solution is to integrate the plan into the company’s ongoing activities so that execution takes place as part of the normal course of business.

Website design By BotEap.comThe most common and deadly enemy of strategic plan execution begins the moment a company’s long and complicated planning process ends. When executives finally return their full attention to running the company, there is often a pent-up demand for their time. Customers have problems, suppliers bring challenges, and shareholders want immediate results. And that doesn’t include regulatory requirements, legal considerations, human resource needs, etc. The list goes on, and unfortunately, the “dust collecting” process for the strategic plan often begins before the ink is dry.

Website design By BotEap.comEven when executives take the time to execute their plan, initiatives can fail as part of the company’s “to-do list.” The problem is that when projects are prioritized, strategic plan initiatives are almost always labeled “important” rather than “urgent.” And urgent projects, such as those that customers are waiting for and those that will increase cash flow, tend to be implemented first. So as the year progresses, strategic initiatives are often left behind and executives must be content to report the reasons. At the end of the year, it can be embarrassing for a company’s executive team to realize how little of its strategic plan has actually been implemented.

Website design By BotEap.comInstead of trying to keep the plan in better focus or putting its execution before the urgent issues facing the business, the permanent solution is to integrate the plan into the normal operations of the business. In this way, the initiatives in the plan will not be seen simply as additional projects.

Website design By BotEap.comThe first step to effective plan integration is to separate each plan initiative into “action plans.” For example, let’s say there is an initiative called “Create a Small Business Marketing Program.” This initiative can be divided into 5 separate action plans, as follows:

Website design By BotEap.com1. Identify the products and solutions that will be required.

Website design By BotEap.com2. Develop custom presentation materials

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Website design By BotEap.com4. Initiate relationships with appropriate trade organizations

Website design By BotEap.com5. Create a list of sales goals, with contact information

Website design By BotEap.comOnce the action plans have been established, the next step is to assign responsibility for each of them. Although the company’s marketing executive is probably responsible for the overall initiative in the example above, each of the 5 action plans should be assigned to an appropriate team of employees. For example, the Customer Service team may be responsible for action plan 1, the Promotion team may handle action plans 2 and 3, the Sales team may initiate relationships with commercial organizations on action plan 4 and the Sales Support team can create the target list. in action plan 5.

Website design By BotEap.comAt this point, the initiative has been pushed deep within the company. But one more step toward integration is making timely action plan completion a part of employee compensation. For example, when teams meet their goals for the quarter, which should include completion of assigned action plans, members of those teams will receive performance pay in addition to their regular pay. Similarly, completion of the overall initiative can be one of the components of executive team compensation.

Website design By BotEap.comWith this level of integration, it is likely to be rare for initiatives not to be completed on time. And yet, execution is not forced or put before other pressing projects. Instead, it is distributed throughout the company and plugged into routine employee compensation. While the development of a powerful and insightful strategic plan is essential, execution by the entire company can make all the difference!