How having a strategy is one thing, but implementing it is another.
Have you ever had a certain quote that has stuck with you throughout your career? In my experience, this is a notion that holds true. While most of mine come from Vincent Van Gogh or Steve Prefontaine there is one that has enough of an impact on my life, I put it on the back of my business cards.
The quote is as follows “vision counts, but implementation is priceless.” Those words of wisdom come from Ed McMahon, the senior fellow of the Urban Land Institute who said the phrase at the Quality of Place Conference in 2017.
While in the context of the conference it was meant from an urban planning standpoint the quote can be applied to several professions. I have seen this quote have a real-world application, and most would agree that it is an important lesson to learn.
Without further interruption here are the values of strategic implementation.
The Value of Strategic Implementation
One of the most important aspects of strategic implementation is that it helps get things started whether it be an organization or community. Your strategy acts as a roadmap to your best-envisioned future and provides a framework to make decisions. Your implementation plan takes the ideas to action. By mapping your organization’s implementation plan, you figure out the key steps in the process and will better understand how to take them.
Organizations are also able to prioritize thanks to this process. Your team will be able to understand what action items need to be handled first and which ones will have the most potential of success.
Another value of implementation is that it helps get things done. In my personal experience, I have seen people talk all day about a strategy, and they never use it. This seems to be a reoccurring issue seen by organizations. If they actually implement a strategy, they will see actual results within their company.
An implementation plan will help realize specific tasks that need to be done for you to reach your goals and have an impact within the community or organization.
Effective Implementation and Execution Is The Difference Maker
Speaking of having an impact, strategic implementation also helps organizations or companies see success. Depending on how well they used their strategy they will be able to achieve success. This can be seen in many ways like measurable results or progress made by an organization.
Organizations can also be united by an implemented strategy. One of the keen steps in this process is to ensure that everyone internally is on board with the strategy. It is essential that all employees are brought together under one goal, and they can do that because of implementation. This will help create a healthier work atmosphere and will help make the strategic process easier and fluid.
Implementation is also a method that can be used to improve an organization for the better. One way that this can be accomplished is if the strategy that is used is geared towards a specific organizational problem. It is also a great way of helping an unproductive organization become productive as they will have a shared vision to work towards.
Implementation Plan Considerations
There are many aspects that organizations should consider before, during, and after they implement a strategy. Below is a shortlist of some of the essentials.
- Do a considerable amount of planning before you implement a strategy as you need to understand all the parts of it.
- Ensure that employees in the organization are part of the strategy planning process and committed. Remember, people own what they help create!
- It is also important to provide them with updates on the implementation process. So, ensure you’ve created a robust communication plan.
- Make sure that the strategy has a deeper meaning and will be able to achieve the results you want.
- During the process, it is vital that you track the progress. Check-in regularly to ensure its achieving the goal.
- After the strategy has finished being implemented continue to track its results and write a detailed report about the entire process.
Strategic implementation has a lot of value to offer for organizations, businesses, and communities. It is going to be a process that helps them succeed and grow for the future.
The process of implementation is an ongoing process, and everyone is going to have their own experiences with it, but I believe that it is necessary to go through it.
As Ed McMahon said, “vision counts, but implementation is priceless.”
How have you used the idea of strategic implementation?
About the author
Seth Stegall, social media marketing is my passion. Follow me on LinkedIn.
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