Focus on the core task

”Prioritize the task above anything else. Articulate what the organization has to achieve, and talk about problems and potentials. It does not have to be particularly complicated. What really matters are small real changes and actions in relation to day-to-day tasks. You must revisit and repeat. It takes a lot of effort.”

THOMAS MOLIN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, HR, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN

Strategies get realized much more efficiently if they are created with your core business and core task in mind, which is why the most important task of your organization has to be crystal clear – not only to top management but also to mid-level managers and employees in all parts of the organization. The purpose and value creation of your organization have to be clear guiding principles for your strategy and your strategic initiatives, and they have to be cogent and clear for everyone in the organization, regardless of management level and profession. Your strategy must be a purpose-driven tool that your organization can navigate with: Which task should we perform? What should we prioritize? And why?

All too often, we experience that strategies diverts from their core and are simplified as local process goals or become narrowly focused on one specific field. In such cases, they take on lives of their own, through target systems which become objectives in themselves. When managers in the departments struggle to connect the concrete work of the department with the general strategic targets of the organization, it often becomes rather vague for the individual employee how their work contributes to the realization of the strategy.

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CREATE A SHARED NARRATIVE

When the strategy is not clearly defined but is subject to local interpretations, the organization often produces several different narratives as to what the core task is. Most often, these narratives are characterized by specialized descriptions of the core task, which might be able to create a common language and focus within the individual unit. However, in relation to a strategic process through which the mission is to strengthen and stress the purpose and focus of the organization, the many different narratives are problematic.

Therefore, we recommend that you create focus through a shared core narrative. When the shared core task is defined in a way that the individual units can recognize as well, the organization has a better chance of strengthening the motivation and the interdisciplinary cooperation that is needed in order to deliver quality to customers and citizens. This is the case both for politically governed organizations and private companies; political visions must be transformed into initiatives in active cooperation with communities, and private companies should never lose sight of the customer and the society. In both cases, it is crucial that concrete day-to-day actions are connected to the strategic ambitions at all parts of the organization.

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LISTEN CAREFULLY TO YOUR ORGANIZATION

In the development of a shared narrative, it is the top management’s job to describe the connection between grand visions, strategic milestones, and the day-to-day work at the frontline as well as communicate that the organization must constantly challenge itself to perform the core task. We know from experience that most employees and managers actually like it when top management focuses on their work. But! It requires that top management has a certain knowledge of, or at least is curious of, the entire organization. Thus, intelligent chief executives listen carefully to their organizations to learn. And they ask questions – also challenging ones: What are you preoccupied with? How do you work here? What do you need? Do you focus on the big picture?

The aim is to make the strategy a natural part of daily life and the way in which tasks are performed. That is why you should let your managers act as sounding boards. And ask them to challenge you.

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ARTICULATE AND ARGUE

Top management, as well as mid-level management, should be able to communicate their strategy in a clear, simple, and cogent way such that it is understandable and can be relevant in all parts of the organization.

Managers must argue for their decisions with coherent and persuasive arguments and distinct descriptions of the individual parts of the strategy. It must be clear to the organization what is demanded from it and, importantly, which significance the decisions have for citizens, users, customers, and stakeholders.

Employees can agree or disagree with the decisions, but the arguments taken together must create a cogent and meaningful strategic narrative that combines mission, vision, strategic milestones, targets, and sub-targets in a way that convincingly explains how the various initiatives are interrelated and interact.