“The ultimate goal of any corporation is to make money.” (Forbes)
While companies have different goals at various points in their evolution, there is one underlying truth that cannot be denied. Without staying ahead of the competition, meeting customer expectations, and making money they won’t survive.
This is where strategic initiatives come in. Whether it’s to be on the cutting edge of innovation, penetrate new markets, or to increase the customer base – strategic initiatives are the lifeblood of every business. They are the primary means by which vision is translated into reality and by which mission becomes results. And precisely for these reasons, it is critical to ensure the speedy and effective success of these initiatives.
The Importance of Speedy, Effective Execution
When done right, strategic initiatives can generate millions of dollars in revenues, increase market share, and help drive innovation:
Taking a Turn on Churn
Just think of the impact of successfully executing an initiative to reduce churn by 5%. It has been noted that improving customer retention by just 5% can improve per customer profits by at least 25%. Clearly, failing to execute such an initiative, or even a mere delay by a quarter or two can result in a profound impact on the health of the business.
Going to Town with Go-to-Market
Likewise, in vying to outdo the competition, being the first to come to market with a new product can be the make-or-break for the business. It’s no surprise how critical it would be to successfully execute an initiative to accelerate go-to-market with – for example, the Agile concept of “minimum viable product” (MVP), where products are developed with just the minimum features to enable a timely launch that satisfies early adopters.
But getting development teams and testers to adopt new practices and collaborate effectively is not an easy task. Nevertheless, it’s a task that must be done – and without delays. To illustrate, there is the case of a tier-one industrial supplier that did successfully accelerate go-to-market using MVP, and reported to have achieved product improvements worth over $500 million in annual revenues.
Now, consider the alternative. Imagine the impact of not being able to manage this strategic initiative successfully. The cost would not only be measured in dollars, but also in market share, and probably even in customer retention rates. An Initiative Delayed Is
An Opportunity Lost
On the one hand, strategic initiatives can propel organizations to new heights of success. On the other hand, when not done right, the costs are high and many. The rates of “not done right,” in fact, are staggering. In a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, in which the firm reviewed 10,640 projects from 200 companies in 30 countries, it was uncovered that only 2.5% of the companies successfully completed 100% of their projects.
So how can you avoid becoming part of this statistic?
How to Ensure Successful Initiative Execution – Hello Clarizen Eagle – the new Initiative Management app that optimizes executive collaboration, delivers visibility, and enables the agility required to successfully execute strategic initiatives.
Clarizen Eagle enables –
Easy access to all the internal and external data that is relevant to the initiative;
Easy collaboration with context, giving you the chance to assess and discuss opportunities and changes (without having to wait for the bi-weekly or monthly meeting);
The ability to change the action items and decisions as needed as based on real-time, data-driven decisions;
Alignment of the entire management team on new decisions;
Tracking the impact of decisions for making further changes if needed.
With Eagle on never miss an opportunity to drive your initiatives and business goals to success. Eagle is the perfect addition to the Chief of Staff toolkit and change revolutionize the way you work and succeed.
We are grateful to our partners at Clarizen Eagle for this guest blog. Eagle is a software used by chiefs of staff and executive teams to manage priorities and initiatives. vChief CEO Maddy Niebauer will be hosting a webinar with them on July 23rd. Learn more at www.eagle-exec.clarizen.com
