What Does Yogi Berra Know About Strategic Execution?

Yankee Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.” A business interpretation: strategy needs to guide your efforts and your company’s Strategic Execution™– how effectively you implement your strategy — distinguishes whether you’ll win or be an also-ran. One of the ways effective businesses stay on course is understanding in detail where they have been, what successes they have had in execution and where they have come up short. All too often companies bury their failures, choosing to plow ahead without wanting to get caught up in any “negative vibes.” This is a huge mistake, relegating many companies to the 90% that do not execute their strategies effectively and repeatably.

Music producer Quincy Jones offers relevant, sage advice: “Cherish your mistakes and you won’t keep making them over and over again.” Similar progressive thinking contributed to the Japanese business boom in the 1960’s and continues to be embraced by successful companies. Leaders, take note! The steps successful, learning-oriented companies take to ensure effective Strategic Execution include:

• Get clear on how “success” is measured; use this to assess past results in implementing strategy
• Capture management’s perspective on executing strategy: what’s gone well, what hasn’t, and views on the related why’s
• Identify and map the company’s primary Strategic Execution processes, bench-marking these vs. world class performers
• Dig deeply into the “failures”; identify, define and understand the related strategic and operating gaps
• Develop plans to eliminate the gaps, prioritizing and building these into go-forward efforts at the organizational and business process levels.

Such an approach aligns with having a robust, sustainable Strategic Execution methodology… … where everyone in the organization “knows where you are going” and is accountable to it! What to do next? Start with an assessment of your current methods. Group50 Corporate Strategy Execution Consulting offers the hands-on experience, tools and best practices know-how to jump-start your efforts. We’ll help you establish clearly-defined and effective strategies, organizational accountability and real-time management that enable you to execute well and sustain gains…enough to make even Yogi Berra proud. 

 Group50’s focus is working with our clients to develop a culture of effective strategic execution. Group50 takes a holistic approach to effective strategic execution utilizing proprietary methodologies and tools that are sustainable and scalable. We approach all projects with a focus on alignment, integration and optimization in support of the company’s strategic objectives.  If you would like to find out more about Group50’s Strategic Execution practice, call us at (909) 949-9083, mail us at info@group50.com or request more information here.

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