Strategy

Making it Happen

Why much of what we do ensures that our strategy won’t be implemented

Without implementation, strategy is just a fantasy, yet many, perhaps most strategic plans are not implemented as intended. Instead, interdepartmental in-fighting and self-serving managers mean that what happens on the ground is very different from what the firm’s leaders instructed. Worse still, much of our traditional management practices - payment by results, team building, and stretching targets – actually make this situation worse.

Further reading

Smith, BD (2011) Turf wars: what the intraorganisational conflict literature may contribute to our understanding of marketing strategy implementation, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 1, 25–42.

Smith, B (2010) Reap the rewards, Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe July/August, 29-30.

Smith, BD (2009) Maybe I will, maybe I won’t: what the connected perspectives of motivation theory and organisational commitment may contribute to our understanding of strategy implementation, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 17, No. 6, 473–485.

Smith, B (2009) Turf wars, Pharmaceutical Marketing, February, 63-64.

Smith, B (2008) Driven off course, Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe January/February, 25-26.

Breakfast Briefing presentation on 12th January 2012

Making it happen presentation

Video transcript