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Symptoms of Corporate Strategy Misalignment
| Guest post by: Joe Evans |
Article Overview: Strategy misalignment is subtle and sometimes difficult to spot. Yet without a properly aligned corporate strategy, you are likely to introduce a serious dose of chaos into the organizational environment. Corporate strategy is the blend of strategic goals that support the mission and vision of an organization. When a corporate strategy is aligned, the key outcomes (strategic goals) of the organization are united with operations and execution tactics. In other words, all parts of the organization’s eco-system (the sum of internal and external functions of an organization’s environment) are moving in the same well-defined direction. When strategy is misaligned operational initiatives are out of sync with the strategic goals of the organization, mission drift occurs within the operations of the business,
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Symptoms of Corporate Strategy Misalignment
Strategy misalignmentis subtle and sometimes difficult to spot. Yet
without a properly aligned corporate strategy, you are likely to
introduce a serious dose of chaos into the organizational environment.
Corporate strategy is the blend of
strategic goals that support the mission and vision of an organization.
When a corporate strategy is aligned, the key outcomes (strategic
goals) of the organization are united with operations and execution
tactics. In other words, all parts of the organization’s eco-system
(the sum of internal and external functions of an organization’s
environment) are moving in the same well-defined direction. When
strategy is misaligned operational initiatives are out of sync with the
strategic goals of the organization, mission drift occurs within the
operations of the business,
It is critically important to identify
strategic misalignment early since misalignment can lead to chaotic
reactions. Uncorrected, problems compound quickly and lead to serious
issues within the organization.
How do you know if your corporate strategy is aligned?
Look for these symptoms:
Financial Projections are Missed
Financial Projections are Missed
While missed projections can be traced
back to an array of different issues, often the root cause is strategic
misalignment. Why? Remember that strategy alignment is the union
between operations/execution and strategy. If misaligned, you can
imagine the types of non-strategic efforts that can occur at a grass
roots level in the organization as managers and workers attempt to find
their own direction. Over time you’ll find deadlines are not met within
operations, product launches or service lines are delayed, and all of
this directly impacts projected revenue streams.
Growth is Stalled
Growth is Stalled
When organizations begin to misfire due
to misalignment, initiativesrequired to support and sustain profitable
growth get into trouble. It’s not that the leadership and rank-and-file
employees don’t want to see growth occur. It is that, despite their
best intentions, they cannot sufficiently coordinate efforts on their
own to right the ship. Unfortunately, spotting this symptom is
difficult in situations where governance is already lax or missing
altogether. Righting the course of the business requires the efforts of
all parts of the organization, but they must be working in concert
together to do it. Such a feat requires the ability to align strategy
and execution through and through.
Reactive Spending and Duplicity of Initiatives Occur
Reactive Spending and Duplicity of Initiatives Occur
When strategy is misaligned, company
divisions can drift into a self-directed mode that stray further and
further from corporate goals. Reactive spending and duplicity of
initiatives might occur as a result of lackluster quarterly or annual
results being posted. In other cases, it could be part of a chain
reaction, due to inter-dependent initiatives fighting for limited
resources. These unsynchronized initiatives begin to impact each other
and desperation sets in, creating a vicious cycle of time and resources
being consumed.
Cultural Erosion and Morale Problems Appear
Cultural Erosion and Morale Problems Appear
Already mentioned is the chaos that
occurs with strategy misalignment. This chaos takes a toll on leaders
and workers of the organization who share in a profound dislike of
organizational chaos. As a result, morale suffers. If you notice an
erosion of the corporate culture and morale problems, consider that your
strategy may be misaligned.
Revenue and/or Profitability Decline
Revenue and/or Profitability Decline
The bottom line impact of strategy
misalignment inevitably falls to the bottom line.While revenue and
profitability can decrease for a variety of reasons, most of these
reasons trace back to misalignment. Profitability suffers as a result
of any of the symptoms presented here, such as when new services or
products are delayed in roll-out because the initiatives to bring them
to market are unsuccessful.
How to Address Strategy Misalignment:
How to Address Strategy Misalignment:
Just as it takes time and effort to see
results from strategy, re-instilling strategy alignment and correcting
misalignment requires time, work and discipline. The situation didn’t
occur overnight, and won’t disappear overnight either.
Bi-directional planning (bottom-up and top-down) and appropriate plan governance can align corporate strategy and prevent the symptoms that can negatively impact an organization. We will discuss in greater detail how to address strategy misalignment in future blog posts.
Bi-directional planning (bottom-up and top-down) and appropriate plan governance can align corporate strategy and prevent the symptoms that can negatively impact an organization. We will discuss in greater detail how to address strategy misalignment in future blog posts.
For more information on corporate strategy misalignment, read our complete article, “Strategy Misalignment: The Symptoms, Dangers and Treatment.”
* * *
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Article Tags: corporate strategy, external functions, misalignment, operational initiatives, organization mission, strategy execution
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About the Author: Joe Evans RSS for Joe's articles - Visit Joe's website Joe Evans serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Method Frameworks. Method Frameworks provides management consulting services to commercial enterprises with strategic and operational planning solutions using the firm’s proprietary Plan4 process. Visit Method Frameworks at www.methodframeworks.com. Joe is a published author, frequent speaker and recognized expert in co rporate strategic planning. To contact Method Frameworks about scheduling Mr. Evans about an upcoming speaking engagement, visit www.methodframeworks.com/business-speaker or email requests to media_relations@methodframeworks.com. Want more corporate strategic planning insights? Read Joe's blog. Also, request to join the "Strategic Planning Xchange" now by following this link to the Strategic Planning Xchange. Click here to visit Joe's website   Plan Governance Without it you have a bag of strategy a box of plans The Case for Bringing Outside Planning Consultants In The Golden Thread Linking Strategy to Execution How Long Should It Take To Complete A Strategic Plan Strategic Planning Business Executive Essentials Part 7 of 12 |
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