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Executive Interviews: Interview with James M Higgins on Strategy Execution
September 2008
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By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary
Dr.James Higgins Dr James M Higgins is Cornell Professor of Innovation Management at Crummer Graduate School of Business Rollins College Florida. 
OnPoint Consulting recently surveyed
the gap between strategy and
execution. And the results were startling.
Of the leaders surveyed: 49%
perceived a gap between their strategies
and execution (the ability to
make their strategies happen), and of
these, 64% didn't have full confidence
that their companies would be
able to close the gap! How to identify
strategy execution gaps? At what
stage do you advocate such an audit
should be carried out? If so, who
should carry out the gap analysis so
that the company is kept always on
the right course?
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Financial results eventually indicate
whether execution efforts have been
effective or not. However, theymay be
also ndicating whether the strategy
was sound or not. Surveys are another
way to determine whether or not execution
and/or strategy have been effective.
OnPoint uses a survey based
on eight key success factors. Firms
can create their own survey based on
what they perceive as key factors. Surveys
can be delivered by the company
or by consultants. But another way is
to follow up periodically with direct
reports, who in turn follow up with
their direct reports. This is an early
warming system designed to prevent
ineffectiveperformance. After all, no one plans for a failure.
Why do you see so many companies'
strategies failing? Why don't good
strategies result in good results?
Drawing from your rich experience
and research inputs, what's your advice
to companies in making their
strategies successful?
Strategies mostly fail because of poor
execution. Firms do not align the
8Ss. They don't recieve commitment
fromorganizationalmembers tomake
the strategy successful. But on the
strategy side, there are plenty of
causes of failure as well. Many firms
don't respond to changes in the market,
in customers, and in environmental
factors. They fail to take advantage
of opportunities. They are
not innovative enough. The strategy
itselfmay lack clarity. I also see among
failed entrepreneurial firms too much
risk taking, and among larger, more
bureaucratic firms, too little risk taking.
Arrogance among highly successful
firms leads to following the same
paths when new paths are required.
Toomany companies are unwilling to
give up what has made them successful
but what will not make them successful
in the future. The next ten years are going to be the
most turbulent in global business
ever. They will make all past eras
seem tame by comparison. The energy
crisis, the pursuit of
sustainability, the continued major
shift in global economic power to
China and India, increasing environmental
problems such as prolonged
droughts, a continuing global food
shortage, a potential revolution in agriculture
(or maybe not), and a host of
other issues defy doing business as usual. But many firms will try. My
advice for making strategies successful
in the future is to focus on innovation
product/service, process, and
business model innovation; to embrace
new paradigms or better yet innovate
them; align the 8 Ss; and to
treat sustainability and energy
sources and uses as competitiveness
issues and not unpleasant tasks that
have to be done. In all the BSchools, the students
are offered a course either on Corporate
Strategy or Business Strategy.
And invariably, these courses offer
tools and techniques of strategymaking.
But no B-School seems to be
teaching execution as part of the
strategy. All of them become very
good in strategizing with no idea
whatsoever on implementing. Even
as regards to implementation, the
students are taught the science in the
classrooms. How about teaching
them execution? What according to
you should be done to sensitize them
to the importance of becoming
equally good executionists?
For the major paper in my strategy/
business policy class, I require students
to not only formulate a strategy
for a company but also to address all
of the 8 Ss for their proposed strategies;
formulate a communication
strategy for investors and a different
one for employees; devise a cultural
artifacts strategy focusing not just on
rewards but other artifacts as well;
and to write a letter of understanding
covering the ground they hypothetically
discussed with a specific direct
report regarding executing the new
strategy along the lines of what Larry
Bossidy and Ram Charan suggest in
their book Execution. I use an example
of howcritical this follow up is
from a close friend of mine who has
successfully turned around three
sizeable companies in the past 12
years.
1.
Business Strategy Case Studies
2. ICMR
Case Collection
3.
Case Study Volumes
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The Interview was conducted by Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary, Consulting Editor, Effective
Executive and Dean, IBSCDC, Hyderabad. This Interview was originally published in Effective Executive, IUP, September 2008. Copyright © September 2008, IBSCDC
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or distributed, stored in a retrieval
system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or medium electronic,
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