The success of a company does not depend on the quality of its strategy definition, but fundamentally on the ability and discipline to carry it out.
When anxiety takes center stage, decisions are rushed, and the organizational consequences can be profoundly negative. Urgency prevails over importance, and short-termism prevents progress on fundamental transformations.
Robert Kaplan, a world expert in strategy, maintains thatThe success of a strategy lies more in its execution than in its definition. However, most organizations struggle to follow through on strategic commitments, even when their leaders clearly understand that their execution will bring enormous benefits to the company.
The challenge isn't learning new ways and methods of working and managing. The problem is simpler. The difficulty seems to be associated with a fairly common weakness in companies: Put into practice what you have learned.
Organizations often dedicate hours and hours of training to delving into topics and techniques that then have no corresponding impact on practical application. It seems that the day-to-day grind drains all the strength demonstrated during the training sessions, leading participants to remain stuck in a routine that isn't always beneficial, either personally or organizationally.
That's why we believe the simplest way to overcome this inertia is to follow through on the action plans for each area, which is how the strategy becomes a reality. Only through detailed plans and rigorous execution can companies make progress in the vital task of continually reinventing themselves, creating systematic learning and doing what has been identified as essential to maintaining and increasing competitiveness and market share.
When senior management decides to personally assume this monitoring role, it sends a clear signal to employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. It demonstrates that the company's executives understand that one of their most important tasks is to align people and organizational processes to achieve objectives.
There's an old saying that when you have to fell a tree, it doesn't matter how big or hard it is. If I take my axe and hit it five times every day, one day it will fall.
This same idea is applicable to advancing change processes. When translating the Strategy (vision of what you want to achieve) in operational terms (Action Plans to close the gap), the company It makes sure, as Peter Drucker said, that we do the right things rather than doing the wrong things correctly.
Once you've created your plan, it's very effective to define five small, manageable daily activities that will bring you closer to your goal. If you can maintain this discipline, the day will come when your goal will be achieved.
Tools are a means, not an end. Still, we recommend using those we find most effective when properly understood and applied. For example: SCRUM, KANBAN, and 4DX. They are effective because they make the administrative processes for tracking execution visible, although this is a topic for another article. The truth is that, regardless of the tool chosen, the important thing is to systematically monitor the decisions made.
Successful organizations continuously monitor their performance using management indicators, adjust plans based on reality, and integrate these indicators into daily decision-making at all levels of the organization.
To do this successfully, companies need a vision so clear and compelling, so compelling and detailed, that it allows them to step out of their comfort zone and begin building that better future step by step.
But the Vision is only the first step. Then, a Management System is needed that integrates the various activities and allows these principles to be translated into operational reality. And we're not talking about computer systems, but rather Management Methodologies that teach you how to do things right the first time. There are many, and for each company, there's one that best suits you.
We already know from experience that the best soccer team isn't the one with the best players, but the one with a leader (a coach) who knows how to bring out the best in everyone to achieve the best coordination behind a clear and common goal. That's why strategically managing a company also involves choosing suitable leaders and developing potential synergies between different areas to reap the benefits that come from good teamwork.
True leaders seek support both inside and outside the organization to try to decode the signs along the way and thus remain steadfast in achieving what they have identified as strategic.
By assuming a direction in time and then an integral management system such as the TPM To make it a reality, companies explicitly define the role of coordinating, aligning, and measuring the different areas and units. This achieves the discipline and method necessary to ensure high productivity and improved profitability. But above all, they become companies worthy of providing you with the best years of your life.
Eng. Raul A. Perez Verzini
Master in Organizational Development and Behavior
TPM Instructor No. 723 – JIPM (Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance)
