Dr. Michelle Booysen, PMP, who developed the VizPro® business process analysis methodology, reflects on the book: The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage by Harvard Business School professor Robert S. Kaplan and consultant David P. Norton.






The Execution Premium was published mid-2008 and urges executives to make strategy a continuing process that is embedded deeply throughout the organisation.
Some key points made in the book:

• Strategy execution often fades in the face of day-to-day operations issues - fighting fires. The senior management team should meet monthly on strategy-only topics.
• The operational plan and budget should be driven from the revenue targets in the strategic plan.
• Large organizations should consider creating the Office of Strategy Management, which is a team of professionals that coordinates strategy management details to orchestrate strategy for the executive team.

Kaplan: "We don't advocate abandoning an intense focus on operations and their improvement, but we do advocate planning strategy, not just describing it as important."

The book lays out a six-stage process:

1. Develop the strategy.
2. Plan the strategy.
3. Align the organization.
4. Plan operations.
5. Monitor and learn.
6. Test and adapt.

Michelle: "Kaplan and Norton make a very valid point; there's no use debating a strategy when eventually execution is lacking. The implementation at an operational level can be a challenge, although it seems simple in the above mentioned six steps. VizPro is a tool that can be applied as a practical instrument to roll out these steps."

VizPro is a business process documentation and analysis methodology that captures business processes in colourful and content-rich maps. The maps are developed in workshops with role-players that are facilitated by a Process Architect, who is assisted by a capturer who is real-time drawing the process that is projected on a big screen.

Michelle: "VizPro enables the planning and execution of WHAT the organisation needs to do to ensure the right business systems -process, people, IT- are put in place to achieve strategic goals, and these are measured in the scorecard."

Alignment is the next challenge. Often a programme doesn't take off because strategies aren't clearly communicated; a hype is created without proper planning; and the team is enthused, but they're not aligned with the manager who's looking for immediate results.

Michelle has experienced this in her career as well: "I've realised that to bring your vision and objectives across, people need to understand why and what their role is in the process. People want to be involved; they won't just listen to what you tell them to do. That's why the facilitation and real-time display of the process has so much impact. People see and understand what needs to be done and why, with the end in mind. The work-sessions and project management style of VizPro ensures buy-in for continued implementation. Besides, the workshops are a dialogue, which means that insights are captured in the Action Lists and used to inform strategy. This is fed back to strategy decision makers."

Workshops where role-players of different organisational levels sit in have another advantage: "Execution needs the will to succeed, which in turn requires a bottom-up as well as a top-down collective drive for success in implementation", says Michelle. "To achieve this, employees need to understand management and vice versa. VizPro creates the necessary forum for communication in the workshops."

According to Kaplan and Norton the organisation must link long-term strategy with day-to-day operations in planning the operations, aligning strategy with operating plans and budgets while focusing on those process improvements that are most critical to the strategy. Planning operations uses tools such as quality and process management, reengineering, process dashboards, rolling forecasts, activity-based costing, resource capacity planning, and dynamic budgeting.

Michelle: "In documenting the business processes VizPro brings about the 'implementation detail' through Action Lists. These are generated during each workshop which then form part of the current management activities, e.g. it becomes part of weekly progress reporting agenda. The Action List records all those actions needed to bring about change and improvement. Some items are quick actions; others lead to projects and are included in project portfolio management. Ideally, where Project Management Offices form part of the organisation, the Action List becomes an important input to the PMO."

The Action List a straight-forward instrument: "Through the Action Lists, VizPro provides the 'what needs to be done checklist' to Senior Management, enabling swift action without all the bells and whistles of Change Management attached. The lists detail the activities and identify the responsible person who's accountable for the performance. As execution of strategy has now boiled down to an individual level, the Action List has become a motivational driver; people see what they contribute to which goal."

At this level it is critical that the operations are focused on the strategic goals. "Many implementers have been frustrated by 'no go' aspects of implementation. VizPro provides the bridge between strategists and operational units through use of the Change Controller that forms the gateway in the development of each process. The Change Controller links each process to the strategic goals of the enterprise."

It is paramount that when you execute any strategy, there needs to be some sort of measurement. Measurement and performance dashboards lead to successful results in the execution of strategy. By importing data into the dashboard, one can guide strategically to create a balanced scorecard. Michelle: "In order to measure the correct indicators, VizPro facilitates that the right measures are put in place to bring about the required implementation. For each process, we define the performance indicators needed to ensure that the process contributes to the strategic goals. In the Action Lists, we record what changes must be effected in the process to enable the new or improved steps that will bring about those results that will in turn impact on the Corporate Scorecard. The Change Controller in each process map ensures that the relevant steps, people, information and systems are in place to achieve the scorecard values."

Risk at the operational level is that execution is conflicting: cost reduction in the one process by cutting positions might lead to a quality reduction, whereas quality was a strategic objective. Michelle clarifies: VizPro ensures keeping the bigger picture through Position Mapping and the Change Controller, along with the achievability of process specific goals which are defined in the process purpose statement. Clashing goals will be identified and a red flag raised.”

Execution strategy means that the right people have to take action. Michelle: "It's easy to shift the responsibility for action to another person. In our work-sessions we make sure that for each action that is listed a responsible person is identified. This must be a person who is sitting in. If this is not the right person, this person is responsible for getting the right person to take this action. There are no loose ends."

In Managing for Results (1964) the late Peter Drucker says: "The pertinent question is not how to do things right, but how to find the right things to do." It is the 80/20 rule; and the necessity for 'activity based costing' in order to truly understand what are the drivers in a business. Michélle explains that this is supported by applying VizPro: "VizPro enables those knowledge resources who have a good understanding of 'the right things to do', and documents those as process practises."

Michelle concludes: "VizPro facilitates buy-in with a high success rate. By showing item by item which changes are needed, and scheduling roll out, management has an understanding of what it takes to achieve strategic goals. Once people are clear on what needs to be done, resistance diminishes and focus increases."