What is Strategy LocalizationSM?
Strategy Localization helps align each functional group's execution in line with its parent's objectives and overall corporate strategy.
An organization may consist of a single business unit or multiple business units depending on its size. A business unit in an organization consists of one or more functional groups. Functional groups tend to operate within their familiar functional silos. This creates a critical management challenge - each functional group needs to be kept in line with overall strategy of their parent business unit and the overall organization. Strategy Localization, developed by the Kosha GroupSM, is a methodology designed to address these challenges. It devolves understanding, adaptation, planning and execution of the strategy to the functional group level.
Strategy Localization is defined by three progressive impact phases:
2. Execution Accelerators:
Ensure execution readiness that leads to effective strategy execution. Execution readiness must take into account realistic and achievable performance goals that lead to strategy execution.
Strategy execution is maximized when the organizational resources and competencies are optimized. The first step is to identify and recognize aspects in functional group such as people, skills, existing solutions and work-culture which directly influences its performance. The next step is to identify and maximize the best-fit aspects while refining and minimizing the worst-fit aspects in each functional group. Maximizing the best-fits reduces anxieties and leads to fast-track strategy adoption. The worst-fit aspects need to be assessed with respect to their overall impact on strategy execution. Are they on the critical path? Is there an option of organic and inorganic solution to these worst-fit aspects? In other words, do these worst-fit aspects need to be achieved by morphing the existing aspects or by replacing them? Is it an overall gain to leave the worst-fit aspects out of the strategy execution plan? It may be easier to reset some strategy execution aspects (duration and phases of project) to minimize the worst-fit aspects. The result is maximizing performance to achieve strategy execution goals.
1. Execution Look-ahead:
Ensure a hierarchical execution plan is in place that is aligned horizontally and vertically. Each functional group's plan must take into account adequate levels of its hierarchical and adjacent functional groups.
Any potential early deviations are avoided by achieving extended clarity and aligning execution details. This plan involves delving deeper into the second level details of all horizontal functional groups. This is required to identify any gaps between requirements understanding and readiness assumptions. It also helps each group to better understand challenges of the adjacent groups. The result is risk mitigation by identifying and addressing operational issues not aligned with the overall strategy.
3. Execution Alignment:
Ensure broader alignment of groups while preserving local excellence of each functional group during strategy execution. This phase focuses on continuously tracking alignment during actual strategy execution. Continuous alignment is best achieved at a broader group level checkers thus leaving sufficient degrees of freedom within various group activities. Such convergence at broader milestones enables continuous measurement against the execution look-ahead plans. The result is strategy execution achieved by managing complexities that arise across various parts of an organization.
The three phases of impact make Strategy Localization a powerful method of business strategy execution. Kosha Group has developed the Strategy Localization as a practice that can be institutionalized for various kinds of companies and their strategy executions.