The girls on our street weren't keen on playing marbles, which was just as well because one of them was an undisputed champ. Whether it was the version where you hit the opponents' marble out of the ring with yours or the version where the marble has to fall into the hole, she could beat us all hollow.

Things remained the same till a new entrant joined the team — he didn't take to this lightly and set up a grand team game to outwit the girl. Major plans were hatched and each of us received training lessons before the date and place for the big match was set with great fanfare.

We were all set to play the match when we realised — a day before — that the match was on the day of our first exam!! The boy ended up a laughing stock and while we never played the match, our respect for the girl only increased.

Strategy is a great word to bandy about these days and it surely does have a fancy ring to it. Just talking about it can be dangerous for the life of the corporation and it would be clichéd to say that it must be implemented well.

All around us I find companies across industries have executed their strategies with finesse. Some have been new companies that have done it right the first time, others have been older companies that having been forced to change, have done so successfully.

There have also been old and new companies that have sought to change but have had little success with their efforts. I find that where there have been successful wins within companies, they have had many things in common. Key among them are:

Consult them beforehand – informal networking

The actual decision is never really taken at the main meeting. It is by conducting several rounds of discussions, mostly one-to-one, that help participants in the meeting understand what the strategy is and why it is important that it be passionately agreed upon.

The interesting thing with these meetings is that the person getting the other on board is not always the originator of the strategy but a person who is seen as being worthy of being followed. So, the relationship manager on the vendor's side may not always be the right person to convince the client's CIO — the relationship manager could instead target another colleague.

What do I stand to gain?

What do I get out of being party to the strategy is a question that anybody would ask if they were to get on board and accept the strategy. The deeper and longer the discussions, the greater the likelihood of unwavering commitment. Which is why it's unwise to focus on word-smithing mission (or vision ) statements, rather than on the process through which they are arrived at.

Strategies should be crystal clear

Strategies become real and inspire passion when they have crisp, clear, and easy to measure milestones. They also have a greater chance of success if they are articulated constantly and consistently. A leader I listened to recently said his company's successful turnaround happened because he articulated the vision and the strategy to his company more than 275 times a year in different forums and at different levels.

These are some of the many things that should be done to ensure that a strategy is deployed successfully. Persistence and the ability to make course changes also shine through as qualities that will help in executing strategy.

The writer works with the Infosys Leadership Institute. The views represented here are not necessarily those of his employer. He can be contacted at >pradeep_chakravarthy@infosys.com

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