The Strategy Implementer - A workbook for mastering uncertainty

Authors: Josef Oehmen, Line Christiane Lund Strøm, Diana Velasco, Pelle Lundquist Willumsen

90% of senior executives say they do not implement strategy well. 59% of organizations struggle with the day-to-day of strategy implementation and fail on 1/5th of their strategic objectives (1). That is a trillion-dollar problem. This workbook presents a practical guidance for running executive-to-shop-floor-level workshops for mastering two key challenges in strategy implementation: Uncertainty and People Impact. It helps you by differentiating your strategy work into four categories: Discover, Experiment, Transform and Excel. This Workbook is complementary to other resources developed by the Brightline Initiative, such as the 10 Principles (2) and the People Manifesto (3). The Workbook is based on research carried out at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Engineering Systems Division and Engineering Systems RiskLab, by Prof. Dr. Josef Oehmen (PI), Prof. Dr. Joana Geraldi, Diana Velasco, Dr. Iben Stjerne, Line Christiane Lund Strøm, Pelle Lundquist Willumsen, Bzhwen A Kadir, Morten Wied and Verena Stingl. Our thanks go to The Brightline Initiative for funding this project, to Brightline’s Head of Research Dr. Edivandro Conforto for his support, and to the more than 30+ senior executives who generously and patiently shared their thoughts, ideas, best (and sometimes: worst) practices with us.

Oehmen, J., Strøm, L. C. L., Velasco, D., & Willumsen, P. L. (2018). The Strategy Implementer - A workbook for mastering people and uncertainty in implementing strategy initiatives. DTU Management. https://doi.org/10.11583/DTU.7447652