An introductory slide presentation I use to introduce the topic of strategic alignment and the tools available to measure and manage it.

1. The Power of Alignment
1

2. Strategic Alignment is the
seamless organizational
culture of shared purpose
“The #1 purpose of strategy is alignment”
Michael Porter
2

3. The Reality
• 53% of people don’t feel their company strategy will lead to success … Booz, 2011
• 80% of employees would leave if given the opportunity … The Economist, August 2011
• In 70% of the cases the real problem is not bad strategy, it is bad execution ... Fortune
• 73% of workers don't believe they are supporting organizational strategies
The Duncan Group
• Once strategy is in place, only one in ten companies implement it effectively
Kaplan and Norton
• Only 15% of CEOs believe strategic changes are well implemented … Grolman Group
• Good tactics can save a bad strategy, but bad tactics will destroy even the best
strategy ... George S. Patton
• Attaining alignment is a never-ending process of identifying and doggedly correcting
misalignments that push a company away from its core ideology or impede progress
Collins and Porras
3

4. Where the Value Lies
Intangibles will impact:
• Customer retention
• Employee satisfaction
• Productivity
• Profitability
Leadership
Culture
Innovation
Employee Commitment
Goodwill
Relative contributions to market value
Ernst and Young, 2009

5. Well Aligned Companies
More aligned
• Nimble
• Responsive to change
• Innovative
• Proactive Not
aligned
“Well aligned companies outperform their
competitors on every major financial measure.”
Harvard Business School Research
5

6. Engagement and the Bottom Line
There is a 50% spread in performance between
engaged and non-engaged teams.
Towers Watson
The EPS growth rate of organizations with
engagement scores in the top quartile was 2.6 x that
of organizations with below-average scores.
Gallup
Engaged people are consistently more productive,
profitable, safer, healthier, and 87% less likely to leave
their employer.
Corporate Leadership Council
6

7. Engaged teams are not enough,
they must also be aligned to the
goals of the entire organization.
Sustained excellence emerges when all the key elements of a
business are connected to one other and to the Customer.
George Labovitz ~ The Power of Alignment
7

8. Common Symptoms of Poor Alignment
• High turnover and low morale
• Passive-aggressive behavior
• Inability to articulate strategy
• Reduced accountability
• Sub-optimal teamwork
• Little upward information flow
• Fragmentation and duplication
• Inappropriate or misguided initiative
• Short-term focus on results
• Team goals trump corporate strategy
• Institutional apologists
• ‘Quit but still showing up’ syndrome
• Indeterminate ‘referred’ pain
8

9. Looking for Alignment
Some key questions
• Is the strategy clear and well-communicated,
and the priorities understood by all?
• Is the leadership team aligned to deliver clear
and unambiguous direction?
• Do the processes work efficiently, or are there
built-in conflicts?
• Do I have a clear understanding of the needs, by
each demographic, of our people ?
• What do customers say, and how does it impact
attrition, retention and overall profitability and
sustainability?
9

10. The Main Thing
Why you are in business and how will you succeed
Strategy
The
Main
Thing
Process Customer
People
“The main thing is to keep the main
thing the main thing”
Jim Barksdale, the Barksdale Group
10

11. The Axes of Alignment
Horizontal Alignment
• Eliminating boundaries between
company and customer
• Understanding, creating, delivering and
Strategy supporting customer needs
• Value creation throughout supply chain
• Clearly differentiated and synergistic
functional responsibilities
Leadership
Vertical Alignment
Process Customer
Culture • The rapid and efficient deployment of
business strategy throughout the
organization
• Employee engagement and strategic buy-
in through consistent communication
People
• Two-way flow of information through
empowered employees
• Enabled by measurable and actionable
metrics
Through Leadership and Culture
11

12. Steps to Align an Organization
Survey Analyze Diagnose Adjust
12

13. Value of Alignment Analysis
• Development of long- and Strategy
short-term action plans
• Pinpoint areas requiring Process Customer
management attention
• Launch improvement initiatives
• Identify skill gaps People
• Isolate best and worst practices
• Distribute effective leadership
• Align people, processes and
strategies with market opportunities
13

14. Powerful Alignment Analytics
Overall Alignment Index
“The Main Thing”
Category
“Critical Success Factors”
Dependent Factor
“Key Indicators”
Q1
Q2
Q3 Survey
Questions
“The best business tool in America” 14
Andy Greig, Division President, Bechtel Corp

15. Powerful Alignment Analytics
Predictive Matrices of
Radar Diagrams
Correlated Dependencies
And many, many more
15

16. Powerful Behavioral Analytics

17. 17