I. Developing and clarifying strategy

Making sure strategy provides a clear direction – from the board and throughout the entire organization – is a common and difficult challenge in nearly all organizations.

  • How do you make sure your strategy provides a ridiculously clear direction?
  • How do you set focus on the things that provide competitive advantage?
  • How do you make sure the ‘right’ people are involved in developing the strategy?
  • How do you make your strategy less complex and comprehensive, without loosing control?

II. Setting measures and metrics

Translating strategy into measures, balancing perspectives, organizational responsibilities and comprehensiveness is difficult in both large and small organizations.

  • How do you translate strategy into performance measures?
  • How do you choose ‘correct’ key performance indicators?
  • How do you make sure more time is spent on important issues than on unimportant?
  • How do you measure the truly critical ‘stuff’?

III. Aligning the organization

Aligning an entire organization in terms strategy, structure, processes, systems, incentives and human capital isa challenges. Functional, geographical, product- or process oriented approaches often create matrixes that are complex.

  • How do make sure strategy takes the lead?
  • How do you ensure alignment across the entire organization?
  • How do you make sure objectives, goals and success factors on various levels drive in the same direction?
  • How do you integrate a large organization, to leverage synergies, without stifling local entrepreneurship?

IV. Ensuring progress and transformation

Organizations have to manage change constantly – in large and small. Strategy realization always involves some degree of transformation as the environment is evolving. Strategy work needs to be tightly intertwined with change and innovation.

  • What should a strategy realization process look like?
  • How do you instil change in the strategy process?
  • How do you change people’s behavior?
  • How do you make sure strategic and organizational change leads to realized benefits?