Are Workstreams Driving Your Strategy?

Leading strategy execution requires executives to focus on managing results instead of managing tasks. This is a fundamental shift for many leaders.

A few years ago, I was scoping a strategy execution project with the COO of a Fortune 500 company. The company was in the middle of a large transformation project, working with a small army of consultants from a huge firm. As we explored where I could provide unique value to the business, the COO revealed that the consulting firm was leading over 300 workstreams to drive the transformation. I was taken aback considering the impossible task of effectively managing hundreds of workstreams and the impact of each one.

As I consulted with the company on a strategic engagement to drive revenue growth, I heard from more than a dozen leaders that these workstreams were overengineered and would be unlikely to have the impact they were designed for. Other C-suite executives shared that they were sitting for days in mind-numbing “read-outs and updates” that were essentially value-less. It was a common refrain among managers that the consulting firm was creating busywork left and right that would not make a difference in the results for the business.

Looking back at the tens of millions of dollars spent on this engagement, many leaders in the company felt it was a wildly expensive goose chase that produced modest results but didn’t achieve anywhere near the objectives it was designed for. The CFO of one of the company’s divisions shared with me that financial results for many of the workstreams were essentially a financial shell game and would have been the same without the intervention, especially regarding cost savings from already planned actions.

A major factor in strategy execution failures such as this one is the focus on tasks rather than results. When the pursuit of major strategic goals and objectives devolves into the management of hundreds of workstreams, each project nested within those workstreams can easily become an end unto itself.

Leaders can drive the execution of critical strategic initiatives and the implementation of strategy by focusing on two things, Magnets and Milestones.

1. Magnets

As an executive, you need to be precise in defining the work you need your team to execute on. I refer to this as creating Magnets, because when crafted well, they provide needed guidance and pull your team toward them, just like a magnet. When expectations are not clear and no one understands what success really looks like, it’s nearly impossible for a team to successfully execute on the company strategy. Charles Kettering, the former head of … at GM said that “A problem well-defined is partially solved.” When executives put significant effort into defining expectations and setting goals on the front end of an initiative or project, teams will have a target they can actually hit.

Magnets are typically focused on initiatives that help an organization turn their strategy in to results. I guide clients to answer the question, “What do we need to improve, build, or acquire to achieve our strategic goals?” Perhaps a client needs to improve their customer experience, build a new product or service offering or acquire a new distribution partner. Any of these actions may be critical to reaching their growth goals. One client I worked with had a strategic initiative to “Shift from a transactional to a consultative sales approach.” The clarity provided by this Magnet drove alignment on the many projects required to fulfill this objective, with good results for the business.

2. Milestones

Milestones are measures of progress that signify you are on the right track toward achieving results. Setting up a sequence of milestones to be achieved is very different from the usual project plans, Gantt charts, schedules, RACI matrices and other markers that are used to manage activities and tasks. And that’s the point of Milestones – to get away from managing tasks and focus on meaningful indicators of real progress.

Here’s how Magnets and Milestones look in practice:

A software company wants to expand into the banking sector, where they currently have very little business. Clients like their software, but executives at the company know that the product must be tailored to the needs of financial institutions to be successful. They launch this effort by first creating a well-defined Magnet as their goal: Build the prototype of a customized product for financial institutions.

Then they create a series of Milestones to guide actions and measure progress:

• Functionality criteria built from 20 potential buyers surveyed
• Draft design narrowed down from three options to one
• Complete tech and automation Blueprint
• Initial design ready for client testing
• Prototype clears first round of client testing
• Customization module meets regulatory approval, etc.

There is a lot of work to be done in achieving those progress measures. Note that project plans may still be helpful to your teams as they do the work, but in defining the Magnets and Milestones, you provide team members with the “what.” Then, you empower them to do the “how.” Your management cadence can then focus on progress being made toward results, identifying the barriers to success, and providing needed resources to advance the work being done. This also gives your teams the leeway to recognize that some of the tasks they may plan for don’t need to be done or need to change. It allows teams to think, innovate, and create within the milestones.

Executives can’t afford to get caught up in the weeds of workstreams. Instead focus on defining the work to be done and having vision about what progress and success looks like. When you’re rigorous in formulating meaningful Magnets and Milestones, the focus stays on executing strategic goals, rather than policing an endless list of tasks-to-be-done.