Leadership and the Pursuit of Speed for Strategy Execution

A rapid cadence around strategy execution is vital in markets where aggressive competitors have their eyes on the prize at the expense of your firm’s survival or success.

And, you don’t manufacture speed through logic, slide-decks, and town-hall meetings filled with talking heads. Pronouncements and slogan-filled posters don’t cut it when it comes to getting broad support for critical changes and actions around strategy.

Friction isn’t just for physics or engineers.While we associate frictional force with the resistance created when two solid surfaces come in contact with each other, friction occurs in organizations when ideas and strategies encounter individuals or groups who have to do something different or new to bring them to life.

Culture, decision-making approaches, and standard processes all create resistance and slow down adoption, adaptation, and execution.

Once the direction is set, intended outcomes clear, and roles and responsibilities understood, speed is everything. Friction in the face of change is real, and it will slow or kill your plans.