Leading Strategy Execution: How to Engage Employees and Implement Your Strategies

217 Pages·2010·2.08 MB·English

by  Suresh Mistry

i
Leading
Strategy
Execution
How to engage employees
and implement your strategies
Christine Antunes : Christophe Korda
Philippe Korda : Suresh Mistry
ii
Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is
accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and authors cannot accept responsibility
for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to
any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can
be accepted by the editor, the publisher or any of the authors.
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2010 by Kogan Page Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review,
as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be
reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in
writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the
terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms
should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:
120 Pentonville Road 525 South 4th Street, #241 4737/23 Ansari Road
London N1 9JN Philadelphia PA 19147 Daryaganj
United Kingdom USA New Delhi 110002
www.koganpage.com India
© Christine Antunes, Christophe Korda, Philippe Korda, Suresh Mistry, 2010
The rights of Christine Antunes, Christophe Korda, Philippe Korda and Suresh Mistry to be
identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All cartoons by Barros, 2010
ISBN 978 0 7494 6056 3
E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6064 8
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leading strategy execution : how to engage employees and implement your strategies / Suresh
Mistry ... [et al.]. – 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-7494-6056-3 – ISBN 978-0-7494-6064-8 1. Employee motivation. 2. Management–
Employee participation. 3. Leadership. I. Mistry, Suresh.
HF5549.5.M63L423 2010
658.3'14–dc22
2009048752
Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
iii
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
Part 1 The energy of engagement 5
1 Open the box of secrets 7
Provide true inspiration… and explain the
situation 9; Be direct: explain your plan 13; Spell
it out: tell them exactly what they have to do 15;
In conclusion to this chapter… 16; Note 17
2 Capture everyone’s attention 19
Talk their language and pique their curiosity 21;
Talk less – but differently 22; Tune in and turn
on 25; In conclusion to this chapter… 26; Note 27
3 Spell it out in words of one syllable 29
Don’t just give information: tell a story 32; Spell it
out: show them they must act 36; In conclusion to
this chapter… 40; Note 41
iv Contents
4 Mould opinion 43
They don’t believe that the problem exists 46;
They don’t believe in the solution 48; The
decision taken conflicts with some of their
interests or values 49; Come on! Put yourself in
their shoes for a minute 52; Stop moaning and set
an example 53; Sorting things out from the top
down: get your middle managers onside first 55;
Open the windows: let your message come from
outside, too 56; Hold your head up high and
appeal to values 58; In conclusion to this
chapter… 60; Notes 62
5 Provide an emotional spark 63
Right, they’ve understood! Now it’s your turn 65;
Appreciate they need to be appreciated: they’ll
appreciate it 68; Minds switched on? Now win
their hearts 69; Sparkle and be on top of your
game 71; In conclusion to this chapter… 72
Part 2 The energy of change 75
6 Lift them out of their comfort zone 77
Let’s talk culture 78; Reshuffle the pack to change
their hands 79; Stop using old language: change
your vocabulary 80; Inspire dreams and celebrate
new champions 83; Be a guru and introduce new
rituals 84; In conclusion to this chapter… 85
7 Let talent out of the closet 87
Where possible, make training courses
obsolete 94; If training is required, train everyone
immediately 95; Teach less, train more 96; Ignite
a spark 97; Plan for the future now 99; In
conclusion to this chapter… 100; Notes 102
Contents v
8 Make excellence contagious 103
Be a meddler and identify the habits of top
performers 106; Don’t be prescriptive: offer them
options from a menu 108; Adopt the toothbrush
strategy: no debate, just daily application 111; In
conclusion to this chapter… 112; Notes 113
Part 3 The energy of management 115
9 Treat your middle managers like VIPs 117
Middle management: one of the worst jobs in the
world 119; Make them feel special: build a
community 122; Go by the stars if you wish, but
make sure you give your middle managers a
GPS 124; Make fewer enemies and more
allies 126; In conclusion to this chapter… 127
10 Pinpoint the target 129
Hunt down mistaken priorities 131; You have to
talk the talk and walk the walk 134; Put a new deal
in their hands 138; In conclusion to this
chapter… 140; Notes 142
11 Compare progress 143
Why do your managers feel that you are asking
too much of them? 146; Standardizing
performance levels: another red herring 148;
Assigning individual targets: often a truly bad
idea 149; Stop ticking boxes: compare
progress 151; Push the best to become even
better 153; In conclusion to this chapter… 155;
Notes 156
12 Make execution your trademark 157
Make execution your primary focus 159; Avoid
stagnation: appoint managers who drive progress
forward 160; So how do you select your future
managers? 162; Make doing nothing
vi Contents
impossible 163; Embody execution 165; Stop
relying on your memory 168; Radiate
optimism 169; In conclusion to this chapter… 171;
Notes 173
Conclusion 175
Covey, or the importance of initiative 176; Berne,
or the choice of life position 177; Koestenbaum,
or the acceptance of the challenge 179;
Descarpentries, or the inverted pyramid 180; A
closing comment 181; Notes 182
Appendix: Checklists 183
References 199
Further reading 201
Index 203
vii
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to our clients, without whom most of these pages
would be blank. Indeed, our writing is the fruit of experience
that we have accumulated from them over years in the training
and management consultancy sectors. With the help of our
consultants, we have assisted some remarkable companies, very
often household names known on every continent and in every
business sector.
We would also like to thank our staff and colleagues at Korda &
Partners. Every day, all over the world, they help to enrich our
experience and to hone, refine and simplify our approach.
Thanks go to Anthony Withers and his team at Anglia Translations
and to Yves Barros, whose hilarious cartoons perfectly complement
the serious lessons in the book.
We owe a considerable debt of gratitude to our colleague Laura
Kosinski, whose indefatigable research has ensured that no major
aspect of the subject has been overlooked.
viii Acknowledgements
Lastly, thank you, reader, for having the courage to open this book
(and not just look at the pictures). In our eyes this simple act
already places you among the most open, cultured and proactive
of people. Reading the rest of the book and putting our
recommendations into practice will be child’s play for you!
1
Introduction
Giving our organizations the extra
energy they need
At one time or another, we have all struggled to take regular
exercise, to stop smoking, to adopt a healthy diet or to learn a new
skill, despite our best intentions. For an organization it is infinitely
harder – because decisions taken by certain people have to be put
into practice by others. Within a large corporation, this may involve
hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people,
spread over numerous sites in many different countries, separated
by linguistic and cultural barriers as much as by time zones,
mountains and oceans. How can you ensure that all those people
implement the same strategy intelligently, harmoniously, vigorously
and – if possible – enthusiastically?
Many writers have already addressed the issue of strategy
implementation.
Some books rely upon the balanced scorecard concept, which
involves breaking a central objective down into a series of indicators
at every level of an organization. Such books are useful. Yet, in
practice, do the problems that we face really stem from a lack of
indicators? Is that the main problem? Within the companies that
we are familiar with, the general feeling is rather more that there is
too much information and a lack of meaning.