Four types of strategy work: Choosing the right implementation approach

Formulating and operationalizing a clear, inspiring and successful strategy is a difficult task. A Brightline-sponsored Economist Intelligence Unit Study found that 61 percent of organizations struggle with bridging the gap between strategy formulation and implementation. Moreover, 53 percent of respondents highlighted the importance of a successful implementation and argued that ineffective strategic initiatives have a big impact on the organization’s performance and competitive position. Our own research, presented below, is based on the assumption that strategy implementation is not a simple set of actions, but needs to be carefully tailored to an organization’s specific situation and capabilities. There is not a simple “one size fits all” answer to strategy work, particularly operationalizing strategy. We conducted interviews with 31 senior executives as well as senior strategy staff professionals with direct involvement in strategy work. We talked to them about their major strategy implementation processes, critical risks and uncertainties in strategy implementation, and examples of important decisions they made (and the methods and tools they used to make them), as well as their driving principles for strategy work.

Oehmen, J., Velasco, D., & Willumsen, P. L. (2018). Four types of strategy work: Choosing the right implementation approach. In The Chief Strategy Officer Playbook: How to Transform Strategies into Great Results (pp. 140-147). Thinkers50, Wargrave, UK. https://www.brightline.org/resources/thinkers50-cso-playbook/