Monday, June 7, 2010

Do strategy, execution, and culture matter?

Harvard Business School Professor Jim Haskett has posed a thoughtful set of questions on his blog relevant to how we view strategy execution in the Stanford Advanced Project Management (SAPM) program:
  1. If your organization's performance (operating income) = 100%, roughly what percentage is accounted for by the quality of the organization's strategy (clients we target; products, services and results we offer; the way we organize and compensate people, etc.) vs. the quality of the organization's execution of its strategy (the quality of our people, work, processes, decisions, etc.)?
  2. If your organization's strategy = 100%, roughly what proportion of its effectiveness is dependent upon and accounted for by the organization's culture (widely-shared values, beliefs, behaviors, rites and rituals, etc.)?
  3. If the execution of your organization's strategy = 100%, roughly what proportion of its effectiveness is dependent upon and accounted for by the organization's culture?
His columns inspire a spirited and educational set of responses join in and share your perspectives.