Ever asked yourself the question – “why did this perfectly sound strategy fail?” Or, “we brainstormed the plan over and over and yet nothing happened to plan?” Most likely it wasn’t the strategy or the plan that was flawed, it was the ‘execution’. In today’s world, there are very few totally unique ideas or strategies, believe it or not. So you now ask – “how do I compete in my market, if it’s all been done before?” There is no easy solution (if there was the competive arena would be wiped out). Let me give you my insights – after 38 years in FMCG.

Excellence in execution is one of the most competitive, effective tools in business today! No debates here. So it's not just the clever strategy or plan - it's what you do to bring it to the marketplace that distinguishes the successful companies from the ‘also-rans'. Steve Reinemund, the previous CEO of Pepsico, the $39 billion per annum food and beverage company had a saying - "one good execution is worth 10 good ideas!" Pepsico is one of the most innovative and successful companies in the world and they have an obsession with ‘excellent execution' in all the businesses they operate in. I know, I worked there!

Did you know that 7 out of every 10 marketing initiatives fail in South Africa, not because they are poor concepts but because of poor execution! Yes, 7 out of every 10! That's a very sobering statistic and very, very demotivating if you happen to be a marketing or commercial manager who produces excellent ideas or strategies. So where to from here?

Firstly, nothing worth doing well comes easy but there are lot's of case histories for those who are prepared to learn from the past and from the people who delivered successes. Flawless execution is built on a solid foundation of detail, and yet more detail. This, coupled with competent people is a surefire formula for success. So what is the route to ‘flawless execution'? As a starting point, let's assume that the basic strategy is sound.

To move it forward, you must recognize that very little happens in isolation and the number of ‘roleplayers‘ involved in executing the strategy are far more widespread than you could imagine. These people have to be identified from an exhaustive analysis of every step in the roll-out process. Once done, they have to ‘aligned' to ensure that they are all on board and that there are no conflicting messages being sent out by the ‘strategy/plan/project sponsor'. The next step is ‘prioritising' for each individual involved exactly where the ‘execution actions' required fit into the individuals daily work load. When I said that flawless execution involved detail, I was deadly serious! Critical to the process is explaining in minute detail, exactly what needs to be done, by whom, by when, and with what resources . It doesn't end there, two of the most critical final steps is to answer the question ‘WIIFM' - what's in it for me (recognition, reward, company survival etc?) Then to set-up measurements to track progress and feedback loops so that the ‘executors' can call for help (every carefully conceived plan hits snags all the time) or to report in on progress, each step of the way).

All of the above is hard work, make no mistake but isn't reducing the failure rate from 70% to say 10% more that worth it?

There are skilled, experienced people to help you through the process - give us a call or send us an email through our contact form.