Many companies have created a strategy, an action plan, for how they mean to succeed in the future. Many have also failed to realise their strategies. A common reason for this is being overwhelmed by daily tasks – despite the fact that a good action plan enables greater success in the future and the overcoming of daily challenges.
“A company without a strategy is like an orienteering team without a map. On strange terrain, a strategy and maps will take you from A to B. Strategy implementation is simple but systematic work, based on which a company makes changes one step at a time,” says Mika Sutinen, a professional board member and ambassador of strategy processes, who has guided growth companies towards success.
Break it down into concrete tasks
Strategy processes have the best results when the whole organisation is involved in creating and disseminating the related strategy. This is what happened at the pet products retailer, Musti ja Mirri, which Sutinen and Vaaka Partners acquired in 2010. At the time, the company had recorded 22 million euros in net sales, with a loss of 1.5 million euros.
A strategy can involve winding up a business operation, growing the share of services from zero to 30 per cent, or the company developing five products of its own over the next five years. It is put into practice and goals are achieved by creating an operating model and related routines adapted to the culture of the company in question.
“Most cases involve breaking the matter down into concrete tasks involving a main and sub-projects. For example, decisions are taken on who will do what by when, and all of this is added to the project plan. In addition, systematic tracking of progress is agreed based on, say, weekly follow-ups. Then it’s just a matter of getting on with it,” Sutinen recommends.
There are plenty of effective models. Common to them all is the need to keep faith with them – strategic change always takes time and a long-term approach.
Promote change in two-week sprints, for example
As CEO of Musti ja Mirri, Sutinen began turning the company around based on nine major strategic change needs with dedicated sub-projects. The plan included activities such as developing the company’s own direct purchasing function and brands and services (Musti ja Mirri had previously sold only international pet foods).
Each project and sub-project had an owner and progress was made in two-week sprints. Project leaders met with the group’s management every two weeks to check on what had been achieved in the previous weeks and what would be done next.
“Bringing about change involved concrete, goal-based work. Peer pressure prevented people from turning up without having made progress in their own area.”
No success without change
Changes were made at Musti ja Mirri for over seven years under Sutinen’s watch. After the first five years, the company had 18 brands of its own which accounted for around 60 per cent of net sales. By the end of Sutinen’s spell as CEO, in 2017, net sales had risen to almost 200 million euros and profitability was growing strongly.
Sutinen is concerned about how many companies’ strategies remain abstract public statements that fail to produce concrete change. This frustrates those involved and a negative spiral starts. Sutinen says that whereas, over the last 30 years, he has seen and made almost every possible mistake in strategy processes, he has also witnessed the power of strategies that commit people to moving forward. Traditional, daily management of a company is a hundred times easier than strategic change management, but there is no success without change.
“Strategic change is vital to companies. It also creates a positive buzz among employees when they can genuinely change what they are doing and boost their company’s future success. At their best, strategy processes also strengthen people’s commitment to a company.”