Strategic Execution: An Oxymoron?

What makes strategic execution an oxymoron?  The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that: “The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa.”  In other words we can measure how fast something is going, or measure the direction it is going, but not both at the same time. 

In 1927 Werner Heisenberg applied this statement to subatomic particles.  However the same seems true for most businesses.  If operations are optimized for execution (speed), then the business drifts from its intended strategy. However if operations are controlled to conform to a strategic purpose (direction), then business execution suffers. It is as if efficiency is the enemy of effectiveness; and the two can never be found in the same place at the same time.

Strategy and execution are two different worlds.  Strategy tends to be the domain of big picture outward thinking. What are market trends, where is the competition going, what are the next enablers for customer value creation? Whereas execution tends to be the domain of tactical inward thinking. How can each individual in each functional department be made more productive?

A paradigm shift is in management thinking is needed to treat execution with the same big picture system-wide thinking that is used in strategy development.  Organizations must stop treating organizational structures, business processes, and enabling technology as foundation infrastructures or raw materials and begin to leverage them as strategic weapons.

As strategic direction changes, each and every asset and activity of the organization should be reviewed for how it contributes towards executing the strategy.  Not just how to make them more cost efficient, but more effective overall at delivering the desired strategic value. Designing strategy directly into the operational fabric of an organization enables management to then focus full speed ahead on execution. Execution with strategy already built in removes the need to simultaneously manage and measure speed and direction; overcoming the limitations of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.