In a recent viral video Prof. Roger Martin claims that a plan is not a strategy, rightfully so, but a strategy needs to be executed!
Prof. Martin is doing an excellent job in explaining that planning isn’t equivalent with what strategy is.
But a defined strategy needs to be executed and it is hard to execute anything if it is not taken down into a one-pager road map.
In most cases, when you plan, you take a set of things you need to do, i.e., known actions and structure them in a timely fashion, to what it is supposed to do.
With strategy it is different, the initiatives in a strategy is the outcome of strategic thinking, or use the word strategic planning for that matter. In strategy you must start with the desired business outcome, the unique position to be in, if not in place the whole process is pointless.
From the desired business outcome position, you must look at your needed capabilities to execute and perform the strategy.
Prof. Martin alludes to Southwest Airlines as an example. And their strategy works perfectly well to put into an executable coherent strategy plan. See the below image of how it could look like.
Do you have a strategy that needs to be executed – VisPlan will make it Visually Interactive and Executable!