“Alignment is a condition in which the key elements of an organization its people, strategy, customers, and processes work in concert to serve its primary purpose, thereby increasing value for stakeholders.”
George Labovitz
Introduction:
In today’s business environment, the ability to rapidly realign people, processes, and strategy is critical for success. A company’s strategy may change in response to changes in the marketplace, new technology, or other factors.
To be successful, a company must be able to integrate these changes into its operations quickly.
The first step in rapid realignment is to assess the company’s current state by understanding the current strategy, the people involved, and the processes in place. Once the current state is understood, the company can develop a plan for realigning its people, processes, and strategy.
According to McKinsey’s findings, companies with poor alignment have returns on invested capital that are 50 percent lower, and their total EBITDA is 18 percent lower. These findings emphasize the necessity of strategy and operations working together so that firms can go ahead confidently, knowing they are on the correct path. There are a few key things to keep in mind when aligning strategy and operations:
- Define your organizational strategic objectives. What are the strategic business objectives? How to achieve them? Once you clearly understand the organizational objectives, you can develop a strategy to reach them.
- Identify your organizational resources. What do you have at your disposal to help you achieve your organizational objectives? This could include things like your team, your budget, your facilities, etc.
- Develop a realignment plan. Once you know what your objectives are and what resources you have available, you can start to develop a realignment plan for how to achieve your organizational objectives. This plan should be detailed and specific and consider all the different moving parts of your business.
- Implement the realignment plan. This is where your operations come in. Every aspect of your business should be working towards your objectives. Once you have your plan in place, it’s time to implement it.
- Evaluate and adjust. As you implement your realignment plan, you should evaluate how things are going. Are you on track to reach your organizational objectives? Are there any areas where you need to make adjustments?
Lastly, you need to formulate a communication plan to showcase the benefits of the realignment initiative that will keep everyone informed about whether or not operations are supporting the strategy and what steps are required to take corrective action if any deviations occur.
About the Author:
Loay Dirar, educates, writes, and advises on strategy development and implementation, as well as change management and risk management for major regional organizations in the Middle East and North Africa. He has 19 years of management experience, including ten years as a manager in multinational subsidiaries of organizations based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
