Strategy is a roadmap that outlines your business’s goals and how you’ll reach them. To be successful, it must be well formulated and executed.
“If you’ve looked at the news lately, you’ve probably seen stories of businesses with great strategies that have failed,” says Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons, who teaches the online course Strategy Execution. “In each case, we find a business strategy that was well formulated but poorly executed.”
To avoid the fate of those companies, how can you improve your execution skills?
“While you can find lots of advice on how to devise better strategies, there’s very little guidance on how to execute those strategies,” Simons says in the course. “And execution is the key to success.”
Here’s a breakdown of why strategy execution trips up so many and six reasons a course can help you gain the skills to excel.
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What Is Strategy Execution, and What Makes It Difficult?
Strategy execution is the implementation of a strategic plan to reach business goals. It comprises the systems, structures, and operational objectives that set your team up for success.
According to research by Bridges Business Consultancy, 48 percent of organizations fail to reach at least half of their strategic targets. So, what makes this step of the strategic process so difficult to master? Common factors include:
Too many initiatives or unclear priorities
Poor communication between leaders and employees
Ineffective resource distribution
Lack of employee buy-in
Ineffective risk management
“By one estimate, 37 percent of company value across all industries is lost due to poor strategy execution,” Simons says in Strategy Execution. “Far too often, this loss of value forces businesses into decline and bankruptcy. Fortunately, the gap between strategy formulation and strategy execution is one that any business and any manager can overcome with the right tools and knowledge.”
To avoid implementation pitfalls and strengthen your skills, consider taking a strategy execution course. Here are six benefits you could experience.
Related: 5 Reasons Strategy Execution Fails
6 Benefits of Taking a Strategy Execution Course
1. Set Yourself Up for Leadership Roles
If you’re an aspiring leader or manager, taking a strategy execution course can position you for a promotion or role change.
According to research by Bridges Business Consultancy, just seven percent of business leaders believe their organizations are excellent at strategy implementation. Gaining the skills, tools, knowledge, and frameworks to execute strategy successfully can give you a competitive edge when applying for leadership roles.
Furthermore, taking a business course can increase your compensation. For instance, in a 2022 City Square Associates survey, 42 percent of HBS Online learners reported receiving a salary increase after taking a course, with an average increase of $17,000—a 10-times return on investment. Sixteen percent said they earned a bonus after their course, with an average increase of $14,000.
Leveling up your skills can show employers that you’re a lifelong learner dedicated to bettering yourself and your organization.
2. Empower Employees to Reach Goals
One challenge of strategy execution is that it often requires team- or organization-wide effort. As a leader, it’s imperative to not only formulate a winning strategy but enable your employees to do their best work to see it through to completion.
To empower employees and gain their buy-in on strategic initiatives, you can:
Build a culture of trust
Establish accountability
Deliver honest feedback
Show empathy
Communicate clearly, effectively, and openly
Be purpose-driven
Delegate tasks and responsibilities
Support growth opportunities
Encourage creative risk-taking
Your ability to make employees feel trusted, motivated, and connected to your organization’s success can make or break your strategy’s effectiveness. Taking a course can help you develop those skills.
3. Measure and Monitor Performance
A key aspect of strategy execution is measuring and monitoring progress toward goals and business performance.
“If you’re measuring the wrong variables, if you’re not linking rewards to desired behaviors and outcomes, if you’re not getting good feedback information, it can really throw your organization off track,” Simons says in Strategy Execution.
A strategy execution course can provide tools and frameworks to map strategic initiatives to meaningful metrics. That monitoring can help you identify which parts of the strategy you may need to tweak or remove, which are working well, and which need more attention.
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4. Gain Actionable Tools and Frameworks
Another valuable benefit of a strategy execution course is gaining tools and frameworks you can immediately apply to your work.
For example, in Strategy Execution, Simons presents the strategy map, balanced scorecard, and Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT).
The strategy map and balanced scorecard are two frameworks that, when combined, enable you to visualize, track, and measure non-financial variables alongside financial ones.
“The balanced scorecard combines the traditional financial perspective with additional perspectives that focus on customers, internal business processes, and learning and development,” Simons says in Strategy Execution. “These additional perspectives help businesses measure all the activities essential to creating value.”
The JDOT, designed by Simons, is a tool you can use to structure jobs’ components to enhance employee satisfaction and organizational effectiveness.
Designing jobs with a balance of control, accountability, influence, and support can set your employees up for success when executing strategic initiatives.
5. Make Difficult Strategic Decisions
Taking a strategy execution course can prepare you for the difficult decisions you’re bound to encounter as a leader. In Strategy Execution, Simons describes the tensions that exist during execution and why it’s important to make choices that balance them.
“The tension between growth, profit, and control is fundamental to all companies operating in competitive environments,” Simons says. “At the root of this tension is a fundamental trade-off between innovation on the one hand and control on the other.”
Focus too heavily on growth, and you may find your business unprofitable. Home in on profit, and you may lose control of the processes that govern product quality. Yet, if you lock in on controlling processes, you may miss opportunities for external growth.
A strategy execution course can provide real-world examples of business leaders who’ve grappled with finding that balance and the tools you can use to do so.
6. Connect with Other Professionals
An often-overlooked benefit of taking a strategy execution course is the connections you build with other business professionals. If your course offers peer interaction opportunities, make it a point to network before, during, and after it.
An online learning community can help you feel supported as you take on new business challenges. For instance, the HBS Online Community is a platform for professionals worldwide to connect and share ideas. If you struggle with a decision in a new leadership role regarding tracking metrics toward strategic goals, you could reach out to those who took Strategy Execution alongside you for their advice and perspectives.
Related: 6 Networking Tips for Online Learners
In a 2023 City Square Associates survey of HBS Online learners who took at least one course from another provider:
Seventy-four percent said HBS Online was better at making learners feel like part of a global network
Sixty-seven percent said the ability to network with classmates during and after their course was better than other online business courses
Sixty-three percent said learning from classmates was better at HBS Online
When you commit to learning new skills, you open yourself up to a network of professionals doing the same.
Free E-Book
How to Formulate a Successful Business Strategy
This guide will equip you with the tools, frameworks, and knowledge to formulate a successful business strategy that propels your organization forward.
Honing Your Strategic Skill Set
A strategy execution course can help you dive deep into the strategic process’s execution phase. If your goal is to bolster your implementation skills, it’s an effective option to gain the aforementioned skills and career benefits.
To find the right course, consider your needs, including:
Time commitment: How much time will I spend on the course material on a daily and weekly basis? How long is the program? How does it fit into my schedule?
Cost: How much does the course cost? Does it fit my budget? If not, can my employer sponsor my education, or are there financial aid options?
Course format: Is the course in person or online? Which best fits my schedule?
Active and social components: Do I learn best through active participation and peer engagement? If so, does the course offer these components?
Taking stock of what you need in a strategy execution course—both logistically and academically—can position you to get the most out of it.
For a course that’s active, social, and based in real-world business cases, explore Strategy Execution——part of the Experienced Leaders curriculum in our yearlong Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB) program. It comprises seven courses to help you build the skills and knowledge to grow as a leader in the modern business world. Download our CLIMB brochure to learn more.