Think big, start small

”You should never underestimate how much it takes for an organization to change its conduct. It takes a long time to grasp the ambitions and it requires a daily adjustment of the priorities and behavior. It requires persistence and repetition.”

CAMILLA WANG, PRINCIPAL, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE ABSALON

‍

Actions create attitudes – not the other way around. People get experiences only through their actions, and on the basis of these experiences they form their attitudes. Therefore, you can only bring about change by actual acting and testing. Conventional linear strategy implementation does usually not create the desired results at the desired pace. It is simply too slow of a process, and we have to realize time and time again that in spite of their genuine wish to work in a flexible and action-based way, it is difficult for many organizations to meet their strategic ambitions and reach their targets.

As a chief executive, it is your responsibility that your organization is continuously developing and launching new pilot actions as well as building those sturdy bridges between the general strategy and specific everyday actions that are a precondition for realizing any strategy. It requires you to think big while starting small, insofar as a central part of a strategy realization is to test new ways of acting. New ways of acting can push you to develop new habits and new ways of thinking, which is why you and your managers should support that your organization works with realizing the strategy through specific, limited, and focused efforts.

KEEP IT SIMPLE AND SPECIFIC

The work of your organization must be specific and coordinated. The prioritized initiatives should add value to your business and core task, and it should be easy for managers and employees to feel a sense of ownership over them. It is not merely a matter of acting – organizations act all the time – but a matter of deciding on how your organization should act: What would support the strategy? How can you and your team of managers help find and prioritize areas in which success is crucial? Which areas are in need of extra focus and interdisciplinary cooperation?

When we conduct experiments, we test new pilot actions and prototypes without deciding whether they should be converted into new procedures, work routines, products, or services. We act in a provisional and circular fashion: building up, testing, learning, building up again – to become smarter together. The act of experimenting is a shortcut to creating the drive necessary for the success of your strategy. An organization that is set free and allowed to show its full potential outside of the usual and fixed framework is able to create a lot of dynamism and creativity.

INSIST AND HAVE COURAGE

As a top manager, it is, thus, your job to insist on there being room for experimenting and to inspire your managers and employees with the courage to try out new ways. The experiments must be connected to the strategy. The strategy and the core task can never be left out of sight, but you must motivate your organization to experiment even when there is a risk of making mistakes. Failures can occur, but our experience tells us that managers who support a culture of experimentation in which their organization approaches tasks in a curious, courageous, and risk-taking way are rewarded with new ideas as well as new ways of acting.

It can be hard to change cultures and ways of acting, but as we already mentioned: Action precedes attitude, that is, your organization must start testing your strategy soon. Therefore, you should try to limit the typical discussions about attitude and get some actions going. Start small by provisionally testing the new ways of acting on a small scale and for a short period of time. Make it easy for employees to partake in the process of realizing and operationalizing your strategy, one step at a time. Squeeze new ways of acting into pre-existing procedures, make room for different interpretations, and make room for failing. Abandon the thought of hitting the mark each time; this thought only curbs your drive and your desire to experiment. It is a good idea to work in an intuitive and concrete way, but the most important thing is to get started.