Implementation plans and the seven-S framework

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Implementation plans and the seven-S

framework

MODULE 6 | 6.1-6.2.1 | STUDENT COMPANION

Implementation is the last step in the strategy process: the practical tasks that carry a strategic option

from paper into business-as-usual, so the strategy is delivered and its advantage created. Because a new

strategy changes the organisation, the plan must show how its technical systems, politics and culture

will shift to support it.

Implementation is a leadership task, not just an administrative one. Leaders build a culture open to change by

explaining what is needed, listening to concerns and involving people; effective leaders draw more positive than

negative reactions. Sound project management (on time, on budget, to specification) raises the odds of success.

From plan to embedded strategy

1. Plan

Initiatives, owners,

budgets and individual

KPIs

2. Align

Bring the seven S's

into line with the

strategy

3. Change

Lead people and

culture through the

transition

4. Deliver

Run initiatives as

projects and programs

5. Monitor

Track the

implementation and its

results; adapt

Implementation turns a strategy on paper into everyday business

One line of an implementation plan (imagined)

Plans align initiatives, budgets, responsibilities and individual KPIs with the strategy, keep it visible and hold

people accountable.

Element Corella Partners: advisory package

Initiative A fixed-price advisory package for small businesses

Owner The national advisory leader

Deadline Available in all six offices by July

Budget $300,000

Measure 200 clients in the first year

Vehicle A project within the advisory growth program

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Monitor two things: how the strategy is being implemented, and whether it is achieving its intended outcomes.

The process is iterative, so stages are revisited as information arrives. Speed matters: faster implementers tend

to deliver more customer value, and implementation goes furthest where managers at every level use many

implementation methods (O'Reilly, Caldwell and others, 2010).

Why execution stalls

Endless loops of analysis, and indecision under uncertainty

Missing implementation capabilities

No way to turn chosen options into concrete themes, goals and actions (the strategy is never made

operational)

Resistance, internal politics and power games (lesson 6.6.2)

The McKinsey seven-S framework

Shared values

What really matters to people

Strategy

How we compete and reach our

objectives

Style

How leaders behave and where they

focus

Structure

How work is divided, coordinated and

reported

Staff

The people, the roles and the gaps

Systems

The processes and information that run

the business

Skills

What the organisation as a whole does

well

Navy: the hard elements, natural territory for managers. Cream: the soft elements, where leaders have most influence

Diagnostic questions for each element

Element Questions to ask

Strategy How will we reach our objectives? How do we respond to competitors and to shifts in

customer demand?

Structure How is the organisation divided? Who reports to whom? How do units coordinate? Are

decisions centralised or pushed down, and does that fit?

Systems Which core processes keep us running (finance, people, communication, information)? Which

controls exist, and who reviews them?

Style How participative are our leaders? Do people work as genuine teams or in name only?

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Accounting Ahead | Original study resource | accountingahead.com.au

Element Questions to ask

Staff Which roles exist, which need filling, and where are the gaps?

Skills What are we known for doing well? Where do our capabilities fall short? How are skills

tracked?

Shared values What really matters here? Which values was the organisation founded on, and how firmly are

they held?

Using the grid: record the current state and the target state of each element. The gaps become an action plan

and a way to track progress. The hard/soft split is a tendency, not a rule: leaders and managers share most of

the work.

A before and after seven-S grid: Corella Partners (imagined)

Element Before After

Strategy Compliance work, priced by the hour Advice that helps clients grow; fixed-price

packages

Structure Six offices run as separate profit centres National industry teams; central standards and

technology

Systems Timesheets and billable hours Client outcomes, advisory pipeline, automated

compliance

Style Partners lead as technical experts Partners coach

Staff Mostly graduates processing returns Advisers, data analysts, a smaller compliance

team

Skills Accurate tax and compliance work Business advice, analytics, communication

Shared values Accurate, billable work Measurable results for clients

Case note: the Cleveland Clinic

When the heart surgeon Delos 'Toby' Cosgrove became chief executive of the Cleveland Clinic in 2004, it was

renowned for clinical results but scored poorly on patients' experience. He made 'Patients First' the organising

principle. In 2007 the clinic appointed one of the first chief experience officers in a US hospital; in 2007-08 it

reorganised clinical departments into institutes built around organ systems and diseases; it began calling all

employees 'caregivers'; and from September 2010 about 43,000 caregivers attended half-day 'Cleveland Clinic

Experience' sessions, learning a communication model called H.E.A.R.T. Patient satisfaction rose from about

the 55th to the 92nd percentile by 2013. Strategy, structure, systems, style, skills and shared values moved

together.

Sources: Cleveland Clinic history and Consult QD (Cosgrove, 2016); Gallup, 29 May 2013, summarising the Harvard Business Review

account.

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Practice questions

MODULE 6 | 6.1-6.2.1 | TRY THESE BEFORE THE WORKED ANSWERS

Question 1 - Hard or soft, and what to ask

Element Hard or soft? A diagnostic question for Saltbush Hospital (imagined)

Strategy

Structure

Systems

Style

Staff

Skills

Shared values

Question 2 - A before and after grid

Kingfisher City Council (imagined) wants 80% of resident requests (permits, payments, complaints) handled

online within two years. Today most are handled at counters in three service centres.

Element Before After

Strategy

Structure

Systems

Style

Staff

Skills

Shared values

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Question 3 - Why has the strategy stalled?

Eighteen months ago, Tallow & Twine (an imagined homewares retailer with 40 stores) announced a strategy to

become a leading online retailer. Since then the board has commissioned three consultants' reports on which

customers to target; store managers say they have never seen the plan; no budget has moved from stores to

online; and the IT team lacks e-commerce skills. Diagnose why the strategy has stalled and recommend three

actions.

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Worked answers

MODULE 6 | 6.1-6.2.1 | WORKED ANSWERS - ATTEMPT THE QUESTIONS FIRST

Question 1 - Saltbush Hospital (sample questions)

Element Type Sample question

Strategy Hard How will we cut waiting times while staying within budget?

Structure Hard Do wards and departments coordinate patient flow, and who decides on beds?

Systems Hard Do our patient-record and rostering systems give timely information?

Style Soft Do senior clinicians involve nurses and allied staff in decisions?

Staff Soft Which specialist roles are vacant, and where are the shortages?

Skills Soft What are we known for clinically, and where do we lack capability?

Shared values Soft Do staff genuinely put patient safety and dignity first?

Question 2 - Kingfisher City Council (sample)

Element Before After

Strategy Counter-based service Digital first, with help for those who need it

Structure Three service centres run separately One digital service team plus outreach staff

Systems Paper forms, separate databases Online portal linked to a single customer

record

Style Rule-bound supervision Coaching staff to solve residents' problems

Staff Counter officers Digital designers, data staff, community

helpers

Skills Processing forms Service design, digital support,

plain-language writing

Shared values Follow the procedure Make it easy for residents

Question 3 - Tallow & Twine

Diagnosis: paralysis by analysis (three reports, no decision); the strategy was never made operational (no

plan reaching store managers, no budget moved); missing capabilities (no e-commerce skills); misaligned S's

(structure, systems and staff still built for stores).

Actions: (1) stop commissioning studies and approve a target segment and a sequenced plan by a set date;

(2) move budget to online and name owners, deadlines and KPIs for each initiative; (3) hire or partner for

e-commerce capability and brief every store manager on the store's role online (for example, click and

collect).

GLOBAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP | M6 | 6.1-6.2.1 | WORKED ANSWERS

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