Your Tactics are Killing Your Value Creation!
Aligning your tools, tactics and processes is absolutely essential for your progress in Value creation!
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Number 6 in the Qualified for Value, the 10 part newsletter series walking you through the applied aspects of Value creation!
By now, you already know that a strategy is only as successful as its execution, and that execution lives in the tactics, tools, and processes that power your enterprise every day.
But those very things can turn against even the most brilliant of Value strategies!
In fact, one of the most common (and costly!) disconnects within enterprises is the gap between strategic goals and the operational actions meant to support them.
You can have an ingenious vision, a brilliant strategy, and a capable team: but if your tools, tactics and processes aren’t aligned to that vision, progress will die!
What would that look like?
So how do you know if your current tools, tactics and processes are crucifying your Value strategies and Value creation?
Well, upon implementing your Value strategy, you’re noticing that:
Your teams are wasting time working with systems and processes that clash with your Value strategy execution
They might already be complaining, or you notice their sluggish progress connected to those particular systems and processes
Your teams express confusion or frustration when executing on the Value strategy, because it’s not clear how the new strategy connects with their day-to-day
Activities linked to your Value strategies get delayed because the processes you have aren’t built to align with them
See, it’s not enough to build a beautiful strategy for creating Value: you have to establish the tools and workflows to make that strategy work.
And on top of that, those tools and workflows must work harmoniously with your existing (and broader) enterprise strategy and operations!
Moving without that consideration brings misalignment that eventually ends up creating frustration, confusion, and eventually disengagement.
So what’s the fix?
Not too difficult, actually!
Use Tools that ENABLE Value, not COMPETE with it
The very purpose of tools in an enterprise is to accelerate and support the execution of the goals and objectives you’ve set in your strategy.
As such, as early as when you’re still planning out your Value strategy and its execution plan, consider the tools you’ll be using:
Will you need to introduce new tools?
If yes, plan for training and integration, ahead of time, so your teams have time to acclimate
Are the tools you have right now already compatible with your Value strategy?
If yes, plot out how you’ll use them within the Value strategy,
and how their use within the Value strategy will work alongside how you use them in your existing enterprise activitiesIf no, you’ll need to figure out how to retire them and bring in suitable replacements
For example, if your incoming Value strategy focuses on customer-centric growth via responsive communication with clients, but your existing CRM and communications systems are clunky, inaccessible or otherwise hard to use for both your teams and your clients, your team can't deliver on that goal.
In this case, your existing tool must change to accommodate the incoming Value strategy.
Create Processes that drive Execution
Simply put, processes are how strategy gets done. They are the repeatable paths that turn ideas into action.
Here, you may find yourself falling into the trap of legacy workflows: “This is how we’ve always done it.”
The result? Inefficiencies, delays, and misalignment!
The key here is creating well-designed processes that reinforce your goals, not work against them. Naturally, the incoming processes supporting your Value strategy must be:
Clear and repeatable
Tied to strategic outcomes
Flexible enough to evolve with the business
But in addition to this, whatever new processes you build out to support your Value strategy must also be flexible enough to co-work and co-evolve with whatever existing processes that will cross paths with that Value strategy!
Set an Alignment Checklist
It’s not enough to set these things and forget them; audit the day-to-day! That’s where the real story of execution unfolds.
Also, make this a group effort! Encourage your teams to join in the strengthening of the connection between strategy, tools, and processes together by asking:
Do our tools directly support our current strategic goals?
Are our workflows designed to move key priorities forward?
Where do our teams experience friction, delays, or confusion?
When was the last time we reviewed our tools, tactics and process maps?
When strategy, tools, and processes are aligned, you create an environment where people can focus on what matters: delivering results. Execution becomes smoother. Communication improves. Data flows. Decisions get made faster. Customers feel the difference. And Value creation and delivery multiplies!
In today’s hyper-competitive environment, that kind of alignment is strategically essential!
But before you go:
In the enterprise environment, be it in business, non-profits or ventures of every stripe and type, it’s not the best ideas that win. It’s the best-executed ones.
If you need expert technical expertise to make sure your tools and processes are working with your strategy: not against it, or you just need a specialist to review what you’ve got going on, look no further than the Strategy Facilitation over at Vivre Consulting!
Our Strategy Facilitation consulting offerings are customized to you and your enterprise, tailored for every stage of your enterprise’s development and journey.
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