The Implementation Problem

It’s a common phenomenon: A firm sets goals, defines specifications and decides to take action. Management gets the message across to staff. A committed workforce starts putting measures into practice. But then something goes awry during implementation. Much energy and time is wasted. The competitive edge won’t come; strategies fail to reap the returns you had expected.

This issue is not confined to major change management and CIP projects. The minor changes that managers are compelled to make every day present a constant challenge. These adjustments may be very small and anything but obvious, but they need to be made persistently. If not, the consequences will be that much greater later down the line. Like a pebble striking water, small everyday adjustments can have a ripple effect on major change projects.

Even the best ideas can come to nothing when implemented poorly, slowly or not at all. The same goes for the wisest management philosophies, the smartest strategies and the soundest concepts.

It pays to develop a company’s ability to execute – that is; its facility for putting key changes into action, efficiently and enduringly. But this is no easy task.

Logic would dictate that it all depends on the volition and qualifications of individuals. Experience and research have taught us otherwise. The ability to execute depends on the greater operating system – the management personnel and systems, the corporate culture, the organizational structure and the like. All this determines how dynamic, flexible and responsive a company will be - and how well it will do business over the long haul.