Key Processes have a leverage effect on objectives

Strategy = Execution

Key Processes have a leverage effect on objectives

In this blog, Jacques Pijl of Turner discusses the key role of processes in successful Strategy Execution.

Any organization that operates with a high degree of autonomy in a particular market has more than 150 processes. If you want to give a new initiative a serious chance of success, it is therefore essential to identify and redesign the Key Processes. They will make or break the initiative.

Thinking and working in terms of processes is fundamental to Strategy Execution. One of the positive legacies of the Business Process Redesign movement of the 1990s is that customer and business processes have become the primary vehicle for analyzing and redesigning business challenges. If you want to launch a new initiative, it is therefore important to identify the Key Processes that can make or break the outcome. Ideally, there are no more than ten of them: primarily subprocesses at the operational level.

But how do you identify the processes that have such a significant impact on your new initiative? It’s simply a matter of analysis. Any organization that operates with a high degree of autonomy in a particular market has more than 150 processes. Seriously, this is an actual count. Take a look at the 153 processes I compiled in this appendix. Broken down: 29 processes at the so-called global level of the value chain. And below that, 40 primary processes, 36 secondary or supporting processes, and 32 management processes. And finally, of course, the 16 change processes from my book *Strategy Execution*, covering the four Accelerators and their associated hard and soft subprocesses. It actually goes even further, especially in IT development, and at the level of work instructions, you’ll encounter a multitude of subprocesses and “workflows.” But that would become too complex to cover here.

Write these 153 processes on a placemat, or hang them on the wall. Only when you have fully mastered them will you be able to reap the timeless benefits of thinking and working in processes. Figure 1 illustrates the importance of thinking and working in processes in Strategy Execution.

Once you know which processes will be affected by the new initiative, it’s time to redesign them. You do this based on the creative solutions you’ve identified to achieve a breakthrough for the client. When redesigning, you can draw on a number of timeless design principles.

Here are a few examples of these timeless principles:

Eliminating Steps That Do Not Add Value
Encouraging a proactive approach (“doing the grocery shopping before cooking”)
Forward and backward integration
Preventing Peaks or Implementing Countercyclical Measures
Segment and differentiate. Rule of thumb: choose three to five process variants. Fewer than three is too few, because then you’re not differentiating enough. More than five is too many, because that makes execution too complex.
Apply the 80/20 Rule
Use predictable or observable customer or product signals
Getting Things Right the First Time
Automating Standardizable Process Steps

The step-by-step process is as follows:

It doesn’t matter at first which format you choose for the redesigned process. Some of the best designs I’ve seen have been developed in the form of diagrams. After that, you have to translate them into an architectural framework. That’s how you achieve scalable implementation. Choosing and using a process architecture method is therefore essential.

Simplify. Processes tend to behave like algae: things are always being added, but nothing ever gets removed. So always simplify. As management thinker Robin Sharma says: “The key to excellence is simplicity.” Build your life and your organization around a few vital things and focus—almost to the point of obsession. Distractions obscure what you’re good at. But don’t go overboard.”

The next step is to translate the updated processes into management, HR, behavior, knowledge, and resources. A brand-new process will not work if the necessary organizational changes to job profiles, management, and IT have not been implemented. Nine times out of ten, a new customer segmentation—along with the associated customer service and support processes—also requires adjustments to management, behavior, support, and resources.

Proper implementation secures the success of the new approach. See Figure 2, which shows how many aspects can be affected by a new way of working. You can’t ignore that. A brilliant new process design without translation is out of balance and isn’t supported by certain factors

Strategy = Execution. Improve, Renew and Innovate Faster

How can organizations make strategy execution their number one priority? And improve, renew and innovate faster? This I describe in my book Strategy = Execution. Strategy = execution is based on the research that Turner started years ago into the success factors of strategy execution and innovation. We interviewed 60 directors and professionals and analyzed more than 75 cases, 300 relevant books and articles.

Look inside Order your copy

More about Jacques Pijl (author) and Turner Consultancy.
The most popular interventions based on Strategy = Execution
24 endorsements from organizational leaders
American management book of the year 2021, no. 1 in the category of strategic management, in the top 100 bestseller, seventh edition, translated into: English, German, Spanish, Russian and Bahasa.
Selection of the most important management books according to CEOs of innovative organizations (FD New Champions). Included in library of classics (mb.nl).
Nominated for Management Book of the Year.
Countless articles and interviews in FD, Emerce, Frankwatching and CFO.
Numerous Ted Talks and in-company workshops at the top 25-50 organizations, average rating 8.7.

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