Strategy execution is commonly fraught with failure. Having worked with hundreds of organizations, we’ve observed one consistent misstep when leaders attempt to translate strategy into results: the failure to align strategy with the organization’s design.
Design Your Organization to Match Your Strategy
Six strategies to ensure you’re crafting a strategy that your company can actually execute.
June 06, 2022
Illustration: Lucy Jones
Summary.
An organization is nothing more than a living embodiment of a strategy. That means its “organizational hardware” (i.e., structures, processes, technologies, and governance) and its “organizational software” (i.e., values, norms, culture, leadership, and employee skills and aspirations) must be designed exclusively in the service of a specific strategy. Research suggests that only 10% of organizations are successful at aligning their strategy with their organization design. Some of the problem is a gross misunderstanding of what the word “alignment” actually means in this context. When it comes to executing strategy, alignment means configuring all of the organization’s assets in the service of your stated strategy and making sure there is no confusion about what each part of the organization does to bring it to life. If you’re embarking on executing your company’s strategy, here are six ways to make sure your organization is designed to do it successfully.