ime assume that once the strategies are written down, the organization has a plan. In a sense, this is true - written strategies are, technically, a plan. Writing your vision down, however, doesn't guarantee that it will come to pass. If it did, we'd all be living in the utopia of the mission statements most of us labored over in the 1980s and 1990s.

The clearest symptom that a plan isn't linked to implementation is an absence of

In our strategic planning work, we often work with companies who have tried strategic planning before. Almost inevitably, the companies we meet were disappointed in the results they got before using Simplified Strategic Planning. While some of these disappointments can be attributed to poor strategy or process issues, many - perhaps a third - were disappointed because the plan failed to lead to good implementation of the strategy.

This is a shame, because your management team puts some of its best thinking into your strategic plans. Often, the team is quite excited about the vision portrayed by your strategies. So, how is it that strategic plans are so often poorly implemented?

In our experience, there are five main root causes of poor implementation. Some of these are very closely linked to each other - that is, it's common to see pairs of this issue operating in tandem. But, ultimately, each of these items, by itself, can torpedo your strategy implementation:

1. The plan is not linked to implementation

2. The implementation lacks follow-through

3. The implementation is given insufficient resources

4. Managers change their objectives too quickly

5. The plan attempts too much too quickly

Let's examine each of these issues, and how to mitigate its negative effects on strategy implementation at your company.

1. The plan is not linked to implementation

This one is unfortunately, very common. In many cases, the plan's issues can be traced back to a consultant who wanted to sell each step of the implementation as a separate service, but sometimes, it arises from sheer ignorance of the pitfalls of strategic planning. Many people who attempt strategic planning for the first time assume that once the strategies are written down, the organization has a plan. In a sense, this is true - written strategies are, technically, a plan. Writing your vision down, however, doesn't guarantee that it will come to pass. If it did, we'd all be living in the utopia of the mission statements most of us labored over in the 1980s and 1990s.

The clearest symptom that a plan isn't linked to implementation is an absence of

p>This is a shame, because your management team puts some of its best thinking into your strategic plans. Often, the team is quite excited about the vision portrayed by your strategies. So, how is it that strategic plans are so often poorly implemented?

In our experience, there are five main root causes of poor implementation. Some of these are very closely linked to each other - that is, it's common to see pairs of this issue operating in tandem. But, ultimately, each of these items, by itself, can torpedo your strategy implementation:

1. The plan is not linked to implementation

2. The implementation lacks follow-through

3. The implementation is given insufficient resources

4. Managers change their objectives too quickly

5. The plan attempts too much too quickly

Let's examine each of these issues, and how to mitigate its negative effects on strategy implementation at your company.

1. The plan is not linked to implementation

This one is unfortunately, very common. In many cases, the plan's issues can be traced back to a consultant who wanted to sell each step of the implementation as a separate service, but sometimes, it arises from sheer ignorance of the pitfalls of strategic planning. Many people who attempt strategic planning for the first time assume that once the strategies are written down, the organization has a plan. In a sense, this is true - written strategies are, technically, a plan. Writing your vision down, however, doesn't guarantee that it will come to pass. If it did, we'd all be living in the utopia of the mission statements most of us labored over in the 1980s and 1990s.

The clearest symptom that a plan isn't linked to implementation is an absence of

erating in tandem. But, ultimately, each of these items, by itself, can torpedo your strategy implementation:

1. The plan is not linked to implementation

2. The implementation lacks follow-through

3. The implementation is given insufficient resources

4. Managers change their objectives too quickly

5. The plan attempts too much too quickly

Let's examine each of these issues, and how to mitigate its negative effects on strategy implementation at your company.

1. The plan is not linked to implementation

This one is unfortunately, very common. In many cases, the plan's issues can be traced back to a consultant who wanted to sell each step of the implementation as a separate service, but sometimes, it arises from sheer ignorance of the pitfalls of strategic planning. Many people who attempt strategic planning for the first time assume that once the strategies are written down, the organization has a plan. In a sense, this is true - written strategies are, technically, a plan. Writing your vision down, however, doesn't guarantee that it will come to pass. If it did, we'd all be living in the utopia of the mission statements most of us labored over in the 1980s and 1990s.

The clearest symptom that a plan isn't linked to implementation is an absence of

ative effects on strategy implementation at your company.

1. The plan is not linked to implementation

This one is unfortunately, very common. In many cases, the plan's issues can be traced back to a consultant who wanted to sell each step of the implementation as a separate service, but sometimes, it arises from sheer ignorance of the pitfalls of strategic planning. Many people who attempt strategic planning for the first time assume that once the strategies are written down, the organization has a plan. In a sense, this is true - written strategies are, technically, a plan. Writing your vision down, however, doesn't guarantee that it will come to pass. If it did, we'd all be living in the utopia of the mission statements most of us labored over in the 1980s and 1990s.

The clearest symptom that a plan isn't linked to implementation is an absence of

ime assume that once the strategies are written down, the organization has a plan. In a sense, this is true - written strategies are, technically, a plan. Writing your vision down, however, doesn't guarantee that it will come to pass. If it did, we'd all be living in the utopia of the mission statements most of us labored over in the 1980s and 1990s.

The clearest symptom that a plan isn't linked to implementation is an absence of clear, measurable objectives and related action plans that define, at a fairly low level, who is going to do what, when, how much it will cost and when it will happen. Sometimes this happens when the process stops after identifying strategies and goals, and sometimes the objectives are set, but no action plans are created (often because there are just too many objectives).

The simplest remedy for this problem, of course, is to follow a process that drives implementation by progressing beyond strategies and goals to measurable objectives and appropriate strategic-level action plans. Yes, this takes more time than the cheap and cheerful one- or two-day retreat that a lot of companies seem to like, but it has such a profound impact on the results generated by the plan that it is time well spent.

2. The implementation lacks follow-through

Sometimes, we see companies that do a decent job of linking their strategies to objectives and action plans, but still lose steam in the implementation part of the planning cycle. A lack of follow-through is one of the most common causes of this ''petering out''.

The best indication of poor follow-through is action plans that haven't been updated since the plan was completed, or perhaps a month or two afterwards. The team set up their implementation plans with good intentions, but then dropped the ball as more urgent activities drove strategy implementation out of their minds. This is common because the very best strategies are never urgent - they are undertaken well ahead of time, because time and money can usually be traded off in strategy implementation. Companies that choose to spend time when they have it - even when the strategic initiative is not urgent - are almost