This Bridges tool was developed after nine years of extensive research. It provides organizations with the structure for implementing strategy and maintaining momentum throughout the execution journey.
The Implementation Compass™ helps identify the actions you need to take today to deliver tomorrow’s strategy. It allows organizations to assess their implementation readiness, identify the key areas to tackle and, most importantly, take the right actions on a day-to-day basis that will deliver long-term performance.
The Implementation Compass™ works for both small and large organizations.
It allows youto assess your current status in preparing to implement a new strategy.
It guides leaders through the eight critical directions. The degree of importance of each direction varies for each organization. For example, one organization may spend more time on measurement while another focuses more on communication.
It helps your organization maintain momentum throughout its implementation journey.
Eight Critical Directions
People
It is not leadership that implements strategy but people.
Do you have the right caliber of people?
Do they have the skills and knowledge to execute the new strategy?
Are they motivated to do so?
Biz Case
You need an emotional and numerical rationale for adopting the strategy.
Do all your staff members know what the new strategy is?
Do your staff members know why it is important?
How motivated are they to participate in the implementation?
Communicate
People can only adopt a strategy if they know and understand it.
Can the leaders explain the objectives of the new strategy so as to obtain buy-in?
Do staff members know the new actions and behaviors they must take to implement it?
Are there regular ongoing communications about success, best practices, lessons and learned throughout the implementation?
Measure
You must have the right measures in place to drive the right behaviors and actions.
How well have new corporate wide measures been identified to track the success of the new strategy?
How well are leaders adopting new measures in the regular management meetings?
Do the measures drive the right behaviors and actions?
Culture
You must change the day-to-day activities of your staff members and have a culture that supports and fosters change.
How well does the current culture support the new strategy?
How prepared is the organization to adopt the new strategy?
Has leadership changed the fundamental way the organization works so as to encourage the adoption of the new strategy for example, meetings, leadership style, discussion?
Process
There must be congruence between what you say you are going to do (strategy implementation) and what you are doing (the process).
Do your processes support the new strategy?
How ready are you to redesign your processes?
How well do you know which processes you need redesigned?
Reinforce
You must reinforce the expected actions and behaviors so that they
are continuously repeated.
When staff members step into the unknown and demonstrate the new actions and behaviors, are they recognized and rewarded?
Does the reinforcement encourage them to continue to demonstrate the desired new actions and behaviors?
How well are leaders supporting and encouraging staff performers by being visible, walking around, and leading by example?
Review
The weakest of the eight points among leaders you must constantly review to make sure the right actions and behaviors are being taken to deliver the right results.
Are the actions and behaviors being taken producing the right results?
Do you know what lessons have been learned from the implementation in the last 90 days?
Do you know what you need to start doing differently from today?
To identify the organization's readiness for implementing a new strategy and to develop the Implementation Plan, Bridges conducts a Strategy Implementation Readiness Assessment or SIRA. This assessment tool, based on the Implementation Compass™, helps identify your organizational strengths, weaknesses and actions as a preparation for implementing your strategy.
Works for both small and large organizations.
Allows you to assess your current status in preparing to implement your strategy.
Guides leaders through the eight critical directions.
Keeps implementation on the leaders' radar.
Identifies the right action
Allows you to create an Implementation Plan
Based on SIRA results, Bridges pinpoints specific areas
of concern and opportunities in all eight directions around the Implementation Compass™.
IMPACT is
a structured, interactive tool for implementing actions in 90
days. Most of us start out with the right intentions but
somewhere between thought and action, we lose focus,
we lose direction and we lose our commitment. IMPACT is
designed to be practical, easy to use and to make sure
actions are implemented in 90 days. It includes guides for
Team Leaders, Team Members and Mentors. A comprehensive
toolkit equipped with ready to execute ideas, communication
media and templates to guide the project team from identifying
actions to successful implementation.
A proprietary Bridges tool designed to support the least practiced component of successful implementation - Review.
Leaders craft strategy, identify the actions, however, more often than not - they do not make concerted efforts to follow though.
Simply put, there is little focus in making sure that their strategy is implemented.
When organizations start to implement their strategy, they move from theory to practice, from planning to action and from concept to implementation. On doing so, they become aware that what perhaps seemed perfect in theory does not always work as well in practice. Organizations need to tailor and adjust their strategy in accordance to their environment and practical challenges.
SIR provides the structure to capture these changes, to ensure that strategy implementation is on track and that the right actions are being taken. Time is taken to step back and examine the current position relative to the articulated objectives. To ensure your strategy can be translated into real practice through a structured review tool and process: please email us.
To identify the organization's readiness for implementing a new strategy and to develop the Implementation Plan, Bridges conducts a Strategy Implementation Readiness Assessment or SIRA. This assessment tool, based on the Implementation Compass™, helps identify your organizational strengths, weaknesses and actions as a preparation for implementing your strategy.
IMPACT is
a structured, interactive tool for implementing actions in 90
days. Most of us start out with the right intentions but
somewhere between thought and action, we lose focus,
we lose direction and we lose our commitment. IMPACT is
designed to be practical, easy to use and to make sure
actions are implemented in 90 days. It includes guides for
Team Leaders, Team Members and Mentors. A comprehensive
toolkit equipped with ready to execute ideas, communication
media and templates to guide the project team from identifying
actions to successful implementation.
A proprietary Bridges tool designed to support the least practiced component of successful implementation - Review.