STRATEGY ACCELERATORS Checklist (Wharton NanoTools)

• answer using the scale of Green (no problem), Yellow-Green (some problems, but moving in the right direction), Yellow-Red (moving in the wrong direction), and Red (serious problem
  
• THE SIX ACCELERATORS
  • Aspirations 
    • We have a clear and concise view of the strategic direction of the business and the logic of the key initiatives. 
    • Each organisation (or division) can articulate the aspiration(s) and initiatives in terms specific to their business. 
    • The aspirations create energy, a passion to win, in the organisation. 
  • Targets and goals (translating aspirations into calls to action) 
    • There is a clear link between our targets and goals and our stated aspiration(s). 
    • We have a robust process to allocate and re-allocate resources. 
  • Organisational structure (macro) 
    • Decisions are made quickly by a few responsible owners and not bogged down by hierarchy and structure. 
    • Strategy and business reviews are action-driven processes used for both tracking progress and solving problems quickly. 
  • Organisation processes (micro) 
    • The right people are in the right jobs (A-players in A-jobs). 
    • Individual goals are clearly understood by owners, and have effective rewards and penalties. 
  • Performance information 
    • We have the necessary business information, performance scorecards, and metrics to execute our strategy and assess progress. 
    • We do both internal and external benchmarking to avoid complacency. 
  • Consequence management 
    • We have a visible and quick process for identifying success or failure.

I found this framework useful, as a barometer to assess the functional state of a business, I think its a useful framework for a quarterly staff survey to get a feel of how the team believes a business is doing, which I think is crucial for moral and planning. Collecting this data is one thing, but once collected I think its important that quickly and openly the management team is seen to be responding to the issues raised directly, otherwise people being to lose faith that their feedback matter, which results in poorer quality data, which negates the whole exercise.