How to Assure Execution of Your Strategic Plan
Source: Accounting Today
Most strategies fail because firms do not allocate resources to them. And the principal resources are people, who often are not told about the strategy.
A second cause of failure is that the process is not managed—because accounting firms place little value on managing. People want to be managed. Management training programs are in order.
Here is what is required, according to L. Gary Boomer of Boomer Consulting in Manhattan, Kansas:
- A written strategic plan communicated to the entire firm.
- Everyone in the firm must be accountable, including owners, for executing the plan. Owners’ compensation should be dependent on executing the strategy.
- Staff, including managers, need to know the importance of their roles in executing the plan. Recalcitrant owners will derail the process and cause people to leave.
- Each department in the firm should have its own plan incorporated in the overall plan.
- Administrative and other support people must be part of the teams. They should have growth opportunities and training.
- Clients should know the firm’s strategy and your value intentions towards them.
- Vendors such as application service providers may be key partners in executing your strategy. Frequent communication with them is necessary.
- HR and IT departments are strategic elements, not overhead. HR is not just about compliance, but about recruiting and retention. It is part of the service delivery system.
From Accounting Today, May 21, 2007, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809. For the complete article, click on the following link: http://www.webcpa.com/current_issue.cfm?pub=ato, then select Strategy: Execution and Alignment.