The DNA of strategic execution management

Planning is a key activity in strategic execution management that needs...

Every living cell has a set of instructions that are precise, repeatable, and necessary for survival. These instructions are constantly being executed by various parts of the cell via specific and complex communication.

In business, having a good set of instructions at the core of the organization is foundational for success. Often, technology and business processes are siloed and have grown and changed organically. This makes strategic execution management and communication difficult, contributes to waste, draws the ire of executives, and shapes our customers’ perceptions. Digital transformation is a blanket term used when this situation is recognized and usually attempts to address the sprawl of technology.

Transformations are expensive, difficult on staff, and laden with risk. If you find yourself embarking on a similar journey, the first step is to focus on what is important to the mission of the business. Clearly defined vision and goals need to be the instructions that the rest of the organization understands, follows, and executes. Delivery needs to be a disciplined, repeatable process that informs budget planning and produces roadmaps that address not just technology, but the processes and skill sets needed to succeed in the years ahead.

Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) can bring your strategy and vision into focus on the same platform where your managers and staff are already delivering work. This makes for a seamless transition from the C-suite to the Project Management Office (PMO) and beyond.

Well-crafted and widely communicated strategic roadmaps are like a strand of DNA. They make it clear what needs to be accomplished in a set amount of time and provide the guidance needed to help the entire organization maintain focus. When these goals and strategies are actively used to evaluate, prioritize, and approve work in the pipeline, tactical roadmaps can be developed that address differences in technology, organization, and process.

Regardless of the PMO model or delivery method (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid), the reality is that there are limited human resources, money, and time to achieve the outcomes that the strategic and tactical roadmaps prescribe. Balancing desired future state with Keep the Lights on (KTLO), unplanned work from mandates, regulations or crises is incredibly difficult and requires the discipline to say no, or not now, on a regular basis.

Obtain visibility into your business

Bring the execution of your vision and strategy into focus.”

Having the right data about resources, schedules, and cost will help managers across the organization understand the potential financial and operational impacts. As unforeseen situations arise, managers should be able to make informed decisions that will keep the focus on what is important

As strategies and goals are executed, visibility into ongoing performance, the value of new capabilities, and the outcomes of intended impacts are key to keeping focus. While the red, yellow, and green of standard scope, schedule, and resources can be useful, it is often a lagging indicator that does not provide visibility into legitimate questions like:

• Is the business case still valid?
• Are we within the planned cost but not getting the expected value (or outcomes)?
• Are the right people involved/available for successful long-term operations?

The cycle of strategic execution management

Well-crafted and widely communicated strategic roadmaps are like a strand of DNA. They make it clear what needs to be accomplished in a set amount of time and provide the guidance needed to help the entire organization maintain focus. When these goals and strategies are actively used to evaluate, prioritize, and approve work in the pipeline, tactical roadmaps can be developed that address differences in technology, organization, and process.

Regardless of the PMO model or delivery method (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid), the reality is that there are limited human resources, money, and time to achieve the outcomes that the strategic and tactical roadmaps prescribe. Balancing desired future state with Keep the Lights on (KTLO), unplanned work from mandates, regulations or crises is incredibly difficult and requires the discipline to say no, or not now, on a regular basis.There are two key elements that will allow the organization to keep and maintain focus:

• Widely available data and information that comes from or contributes to the strategic planning, prioritizing, and monitoring processes
• Lean, active governance should champion strategic roadmaps and provide clear direction about what work is valuable and when

If strategic plans go into a document on a shared drive and are only looked at as a quarterly data call exercise, it will be difficult for the delivery and support organizations to align their work and as a result, multiple competing governing bodies can arise. Standardizing the data collection and maintenance throughout this strategic execution management life cycle, provides decision makers with well-defined measuring tools and highly visible information that ensure focus is maintained.

Get and keep focus with Cask

Well-crafted and widely communicated strategic roadmaps are like a strand of DNA. They make it clear what needs to be accomplished in a set amount of time and provide the guidance needed to help the entire organization maintain focus. When these goals and strategies are actively used to evaluate, prioritize, and approve work in the pipeline, tactical roadmaps can be developed that address differences in technology, organization, and process.

Regardless of the PMO model or delivery method (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid), the reality is that there are limited human resources, money, and time to achieve the outcomes that the strategic and tactical roadmaps prescribe. Balancing desired future state with Keep the Lights on (KTLO), unplanned work from mandates, regulations or crises is incredibly difficult and requires the discipline to say no, or not now, on a regular basis.

The Cask Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) team has over 60 years of combined experience that can assess your organization’s strengths and opportunities in these integrated strategic processes. We have packages that will improve visibility and transparency, delivery management at the project and product level, and strategic funding of IT portfolios.

Request a quote and see how Cask can leverage ServiceNow’s SPM for strategic execution management to help you get and keep focus and make the most of your limited resources and budget.