Insights are often unveiled in casual conversations we have with clients, colleagues or friends – a point in time where both parties realise this is important stuff, and most people are struggling with it. These insights don’t wait for formal engagements – they happen over coffees and on couches. Our ‘couch coffees’ is a continuing series of posts where we’ll publish some of these insights – simple, short and sharp. They might be second nature to some; for others, they might be closer to epiphanies. For most, we hope they’re simply nudges in the right direction.
Strategy is complicated. When it comes to execution, things can get even trickier. The last thing you want to do is overcomplicate it with too many layers of governance, frameworks, or models.
Here are three reasons why:
- When you pile on too many frameworks or processes, the team begins to treat strategy and execution as nothing more than a tick-box exercise. The focus is to complete the document, not have in-depth team discussions and debates about the strategy and prioritised next steps. The lengthy time to complete multiple iterations causes frustration, and the excitement around driving transformation in the business is gone.
- The more complicated you make it, the more it starts to feel like you need a Ph.D. just to understand what needs to be completed. Suddenly, instead of focusing on the actual strategy and execution journey, you’re talking more about the various models and processes, and how everything fits together.
- Lastly, and most importantly, you lose agility. The ability to adapt and respond to changes in the environment is crucial, but if your strategy execution is bogged down by red tape and endless documents, you lose that flexibility. And in the end, you don’t get the results you’re aiming for.
So, how do you keep it simple?
There are many great frameworks out there that can make a real difference. The key is to pick ones that are complementary. We’ve written before on choosing a framework at every level of the strategy pyramid. It should sound something like “here is the framework we use to summarise our strategy, and here is the methodology that we use for shorter-term goal management, and here is how they work together”.
Get rid of the jargon, too. Be specific and answer the basic questions clearly and succinctly. You don’t need to go into endless detail. The more concise you can be, the better you can communicate it and get a broader understanding.
Finally, reduce the red tape. Instead of focusing on formal processes, approvals, and countless documents, make it about discussions, conversations, actions, learnings, and results. Build a collaborative, agile environment, not a rigid, fearful one.
Ready to keep it simple? Get in touch, and let’s make strategy and execution fun again.
