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Below is our recent interview with Carl Cox, CEO, North America at Cascade Strategy:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to Cascade Strategy?
A: At Cascade Strategy, we help organizations succeed by bringing purpose and clarity to what they do. Our passion is for all people within an organization to have visibility and to be inspired by the vision, purpose, and specific focus areas to help motivate them on a day-to-day basis.
Cascade Strategy was founded with this purpose in mind by its founders Tom Wright and Eric Perriard in Sydney, Australia in 2012. Since that period, Cascade has expanded to over 800 clients worldwide with supporting offices in Seoul, Korea and Portland, Oregon, USA. We work directly with clients and we have a partner program which expands our reach to every major continent.
Q: What exactly is strategy execution software?
A: Today, many organizations create strategic plans. They typically use non-standardized electronic document repositories or print for distribution. The challenge is creating a strategic plan is only half the battle. The next challenge is to execute on that specific plan. Non-standardized formats do not make it easy for executive, directors, and managers to update the information. Due to the time-consuming efforts, often this process is skipped, or much of the time is spent on consolidating for formatting purposes. Because the process is so challenging, our teams are not spending time asking the most important thing – why are we on-track or falling behind?
Cascade Strategy automates this process by taking the strategic plan into a standardized database. End-users have simple and easy methods to update goals, track Key Performance Indicators’ and explain why. With the database, all goals may be tagged to provide simple one-click reports for management to assess the progress of their strategic plans. Strategic goals may be tracked on dashboards to provide a visually appealing record of data and progress towards goals. Cascade integrates with over 1,000 different systems and outside reports may be attached to strategic goals to provide a one-stop shop review for executive management.
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Q: Why is it that planning a strategy is relatively easy (or even fun), but executing can become a difficult task?
A: The creative process of the strategic plan should be a fun process. And that is part of the problem. It is easy to dream. Not so easy to get things done. Anyone can scribble on a whiteboard during a strategic retreat – “We are going to be a leading organization in the “blah, blah, blah” industry.”
Thanks, I feel better now. So…
What does leading mean?
When are we going to get there?
How are we going to get there?
The fact is 70% of strategies fail. There are five key reasons for these failures:
1) Organizations develop a strategy too early. If an organization is continuously pivoting in the start-up phase – tracking to a “strategy” may be very difficult.
2) The plan lacks specifics. Vague writing will lead to vague success. It is very important to clarify the goals by using the SMART goal principle:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Timely
3) Strategic plans that lack honesty will also fail. I am not referring to stretch goals – I am referring to goals that lack fundamental insight. This will lead to disengagement – instead of alignment with your key management team and staff.
4) Resistance to change is a key reason we continue with ‘status quo’ instead of moving in a new direction. People fear change and without a compelling vision, we settle back to where we are comfortable.
5) Lack of accountability. Organizations that do not set-up consistent strategy meetings to monitor the direction, help overcome the obstacles and provide the proper resources will not be able to move forward.
Q: What is the best way to execute strategy?
A: Create a clear strategic framework and language that everyone can understand. Set a compelling vision with 3-5 focus areas and actionable strategic initiatives with SMART goals. Assign no more than 3 strategic goals per key leader per respective period. Set a strong strategic governance to review your goals on a periodic basis, no less than quarterly. Review goals every six months and evaluate whether you should Keep, Start, or Stop using them in the strategic framework. Enjoy success and your strategic planning process will gain traction and help you move in the direction that you intended.
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Q: What are your plans for 2018?
A: We are very focused on our customers and helping them succeed by bring purpose and clarity to what they do.
Our key focus areas including the following:
1) Build a scalable and reliable pipeline
2) Double growth
3) Drive product usage and retention
4) Constantly improve our platform
5) Create a place of work we all love
