Strategy implementation and the 4 remaining challenges.

Strategy implementation as well as change management is a very demanding process, which you need to be on top of every step of the way. All the time you’ve spent in advance coming up with the changes or the new strategy will be in vain if you are not able to execute it well. According to the well known 80/20 rule, the implementation part is the 80.

Depending on it’s size and complexity, it is the 80 % chance of failing or succeeding, the 80 % of the total effort with the project, it needs to reach 80 % of the employees and it will propably take 80 % of the time spent on the entire project.

Now, let’s get on with the last 4 stages/challenges of strategy implementation:

I find Strategy as a subject, very interesting. It is made up by so many aspects, but more than everything, it is about understanding the environment in which one operates, being adaptive and forward thinking and being able to lead change.

The implementation of strategy is often where the strategy fails. It’s where everything ties together and everyone comes together to execute change. Needless to say, implementing a strategy in an organization is a demanding process and there are many challenges linked to it. In John P. Kotter’s article ´Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fails he brings up how to lead a change process in an organization and why it so easily fails. He does this by talking about the 8 stages in the change process, which are also the challenges and pitfalls.

Let’s tackle them one by one. Starting in this post with the 4 first stages/challenges of strategy implementation:

So many of us get the terminology confused. I see this especially in my own language, where we constantly talk about leaders, superiors, managers and bosses as the same thing.

I believe that true leadership is an art. Being a leader requires a lot of you as a person. Some people are natural born leaders, yes. But there is also a lot to be learned about leadership.

You step into the role of a leader and leadership when you:

• Deploy empathy
• Have a vision that you work towards and get others to work towards
• Empower others
• Lift others up
• Lead the way
• Act as you want others to act
• Listen to understand
• Take responsibility and initiative
• Let others try and fail
• Help, guide and mentor others
• Play on people´s strengths
• Understand everyone´s uniqueness
• Help people shine, grow and develop
• Motivate and inspire others
• Have others want to follow you
• Have got your people´s back
• Give others honest praise and constructive criticism
• Deploy unselfishness and leave your ego at the door

What is your take on leadership?

I t is so popular these days to be pro Monday, like everyone is supposed to love Mondays and all that comes with it. What we have to understand is, that this is only ment as a metaphor. You don’t have to love Mondays – not at all really. The point that we are striving to get across is the importance of actually liking what you do. That life is too short to be stuck in a job that you hate.

This is what we mean by not living for the weekend as well. It is ok to love the weekend, guys. What is not ok, is to dread Mondays and the week because it sucks because your job sucks, and only looking forward to the weekends to get a break from your work. If you do find yourself in this situation, then do what it takes to change it, so that you can enjoy every day of the week 🙂

Now, happy Monday 😉

Picture credit: @swellbottle

February book review:

The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles

I simply love this book!

This is an oldie but goodie, as you will hear in which industries and examples the author refers to. However, I would say that it is also completely up to date, when it comes to the actual strategy and the principles that book suggests. I do actually believe that there is an exact science to getting rich and that there are many valuable takeaways from this book indeed. As always, you need to keep an open mind while reading this book, as it might be a little bit controversial in some of its statements.

Some nuggets/summary from the book:

Did you know: Research suggests that we will more readily believe a poor argument explained to us in a convincing manner than one based on sound logic but presented by someone who sounds unconvinced or uninterested.

Sounds familiar? I’m sure you have experienced this several times. At least I have. Let’s go a little bit more into the details: