Who’s on your side?

One of my biggest lessons in delivering strategy has been recognising that people are at the heart of turning strategy from a concept into reality. This is one of those lessons that is obvious when you say it, but painful if you forget it.

The delivery of strategy is a series of decisions and actions, taken over time, to create a future outcome.

That means the people responsible for delivering it matter enormously.

Designing an approach that builds on their strengths—and provides the support, capacity, authority, and clarity they need—is critical to the long-term success of any strategic effort.

As you develop your strategy, take time to reflect on three groups of people.

The people who will deliver it
Who will do the work? What strengths do they bring? What support, capability, resources, and decision rights will they need?

The people affected by it
Who will benefit? Who may experience risk, disruption, or loss? Who has an interest in the outcome, and how might those interests change over time?

The people who will decide what happens next
Who will decide whether to continue, invest further, adapt course, or stop? What information, feedback, and decision-making support will they need to make that call well?

The last question is particularly important because often the person accountable for that future decision will be you.

A strategy becomes real through people and the decisions they make, the people who take action to deliver it, who experience its consequences, and the people who will be accountable for what happens next.

Who are you designing your strategy around?