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Strategy tagline - connecting people with strategy
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There are companies that believe business as usual is some strategy as they score above average numbers. Yet there are those that focus on firm operations and its efficiency and sincerely believe that they are implementing a strategy. Then there are companies who have worked out great strategy steering clear of pitfalls in strategy formulation but still have hit the roadblock of poor implementation, unable to clear the barriers of strategy execution. Fortunately, there are other firms, though meager in number, who have worked out a strategic plan and are also implementing and reviewing the strategy and it appears that they have the right strategy at hand.
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What ever be the category that a firm may fall among the above mentioned types, in all probability the efforts made to make the people understand the strategy are usually not adequate.
Almost, unmistakably, when faced with the question to state the strategy of the company in one line, people at lower rungs of the hierarchy are simply lost for the want of words (look confused) and those at top position may give a longish explanation of the strategic positioning of the company, but what makes it so interesting is that each of the top manager will have his own interpretation of the strategy that the company pursues.
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What is the problem?
The fact that people have difficulty in stating your strategy in simple terms shows that they have no clue of what the strategy is all about and that there is no clarity on the outcomes / results expected of the strategy. In the absence of a clear idea on issue like:
- Where the strategic thrust of the firm lies?
- What is the expected result of pursuing the given strategy?
- What it means to an employee in his day-to-day work?
there is every possibility that people are not focused to the common goal and their attitudes and work is not in alignment with the strategic intent of the company.
Where is the problem?
It is not that the communication does not take place. It takes place at many a forum where strategy of the firm is parroted out to employees, which sounds more like a wish list rather than a well thought out action plan whose benefits and risks are understood. Communication happens through strategy documents and other forms of print media, but then the employees do not find it worthwhile to go through the pain of reading the document. Though top management wants commitment of people in strategy implementation but people simply cannot understand the strategy and its value proposition.
How to make sense of the strategy - making an effective and meaningful communication
A simple tagline - similar to the brand taglines that we see in advertisements - that reflects the strategic intent of the company or the essence of the strategy that the firm is pursuing must be crafted and communicated so that employees can connect themselves with the strategy and align their actions in a way that strategy is executed in a much more effective way.
An analogy with brand tagline
The way brand tagline underlines a firm’s unique value proposition to the customers, the strategy tagline must capture the essence of why a particular strategy is being pursued and the value proposition that it would provide to the customers.
If brand taglines are meant to catch the imagination of customers, strategy tagline or a strategy statement must catch the imagination of the people inside, enthuse them into action by providing clarity of “why” and “how”.
How the strategy statement is different from vision and mission of the company
The vision or mission statements are also meant to enthuse people towards a common goal. But more importantly the mission and vision statement bring out the purpose of the business and describe vividly a future state of the organization to keep the people inspired to pursue a daunting challenge. The strategy statement or strategy tag line of the company comes into existence after the short to medium term strategies are finalized in order to accomplish the mission / pursue the vision in the long term. These medium term strategies define what the company is going to do in the next half a mile of the marathon race that the company has embarked upon. In a way strategy statement or the strategy tagline makes the strategic intent of the company clear to the employees in such a way that employees see meaning in their work and understand how they contribute to the overall success of the company.
Articulating a strategy tagline
A recent article “Can you say what your strategy is” in April 2008 issue of HBR by David J Collis and Michael G. Ruksad brings forth the elements of strategy statement.
In short the strategy tagline or statement must bring the current strategic priority to the forefront and also connect with the actions that employee take in their day-to-day work. Since, strategy is about establishing and strengthening unique value proposition in the targeted segments, so the strategy tag line in the company must make the value proposition clear in such a way that people can connect their work with the intended competitive advantage. For example “everyday lowest prices” is one such brilliant tag line that not only works on employees minds at Walmart, which makes them think of ways to reduce company’s costs, so that the benefit can be passed on to the customer. Also the tag line communicates the value proposition to its customers and instills confidence in them of the best prices in the market.
The crux of the issue is that top management teams work hours together to craft a strategy, it rarely spends enough time on finding the right words that describe its strategy, its rationale and its outcome to the employees. The importance of clear and simple statement of company strategy is never realized by the top management, which so badly wants employees to be committed to the company strategy. A clear and simple statement of strategic intent that we call strategy tagline helps in communicating the essence of company’s strategy in such a telling way that employees can understand impact of their actions and align them to the ultimate goal of the company.
Spending some time on articulating a strategy tagline or statement may make a difference between employee commitment to strategy implementation and simply carrying out the orders to implement a strategy. Strategy tagline - a must for bringing a culture of result orientation in a company.
Related articles:
Barriers to strategy execution
Pitfalls in strategy formulation process
Strategic intent is about clarity, focus and inspiration
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