When Strategy Is Not the Problem. Translation Is.

Professional services firms spend a lot of time developing strategy. There are leadership retreats, partner interviews, market assessments, client discussions and competitive reviews. There are conversations about growth, succession, technology, culture, new markets and the future of the firm.

Once the strategic plan emerges and the most significant priorities identified, the plan is presented to the partnership, everyone agrees, and then everyone goes back to work.

So why do so many firms that created a perfectly good strategic plan, struggle so much with execution? This is typically because the strategy exists at one level of the organization while the work required to deliver it happens somewhere else.

For example, supposed the plan calls for “strengthening client relationships” with key clients. That sounds reasonable, but there are questions. Which clients? Where are the opportunities? Which practices should be involved? Who is responsible for the relationship? What should the relationship partner actually do differently? And on and on.

Without more information and discussion, “strengthen client relationships” will remain a strategic priority rather than a change in behaviour that is needed.

Everyone needs to be on board

For a strategy to work, it has to move from the executive team to practice groups, from practice groups to individual partners, etc. The broad objectives identified in the plan need to be connected with specific decisions.

Consider the following priorities examples and how they can easily get consumed by more questions before anyone is able to action it.

• Grow in priority markets: What markets? Which clients and prospects? What capabilities do we need?
• Deepen client relationships: Which clients matter most? Where is there genuine potential for growth?
• Improve collaboration: Which practices will benefit from working together?
• Develop future leaders: Who needs new responsibilities, experience or exposure to senior decision makers?
• Increase profitability: How?

Partners have considerable autonomy in professional services firms. Practice groups have their own priorities. Offices can develop their own ways of doing things. And client work will always take priority over internal initiatives. The challenge keeps getting bigger.

To overcome these challenges, firms need to translate broad priorities into practical actions. The answer will be different for every firm. But there has to be an answer.

The middle of the organization matters

As plans are developed there is typically a great deal of attention paid to the people at the top of the organization and the people expected to deliver the profits. This makes sense as it is the practice leaders, office leaders, sector leaders and other managers that play a critical role in execution. However in order to help each of them execute, leaderships needs to work with them to answer questions they may have such as:

• What does this priority mean for our practice?
• What are the opportunities for me and my group?
• What needs to change, if anything?
• What should we stop doing?
• How do we get help from other parts of the firm?

Without these conversations, it is impossible to know how the high-level strategy is interpreted and actioned across the firm.

Communication is part of implementation

Leadership often thinks about communication and execution after the strategy is complete. Whereas in actuality, these areas must be considered much earlier on.

Change does not come from a single announcement or a single meeting; it comes from daily actions. To be successful, people need to understand how the strategy affects them and see examples of what progress looks like. They need opportunities to ask questions and become vested in the results. They need to hear about the strategy often so that it remains connected with the decisions they make. And they need to see successes.

Marketing and business development can help

Marketing and business development teams have much more to contribute when empowered to do so. These groups often have more information about what is happening across the firm and can help translate strategy into actions. They know which clients generate revenue, which practices are involved, where relationships are strong or weak, what competitors are doing and where opportunities may exist. They can connect information across practices and offices that might otherwise remain in separate places.

This is when these functions become strategic contributors rather than simply support functions. These groups are experts at taking high level thinking and communicating in a manner for the masses.

The strategy is not finished when the plan is approved

A strategic plan is an important starting point. The harder work is implementing the plan. If the strategy only comes up once a year at a partner meeting, it is unlikely to influence what happens during the rest of the year.

The question is not whether people agree with the strategy, it is whether they know what to do with it to be successful.