The DNA of Strategy Execution

Next Generation Project Management and PMO

Jack Duggal

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781119378730
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Project Management
• Index: Business

THE DNA OF STRATEGY EXECUTION

"In a world where there are more questions than answers every leader will need to learn to dance to a different beat. In this insightful book, Jack Duggal has cracked the DNA of Strategy Execution. Ignore these insights at your own peril."
—?Dr. Tony O'Driscoll
Global Head, DukeCE Labs, Duke Corporate Education
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

DECODE THE DNA OF MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGY EXECUTION IN AN INCREASINGLY TURBULENT WORLD

Just as DNA contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all living organisms, what if we could decode the elements of management and strategy execution?

This insightful book offers new perspectives on age-old management challenges and illuminates better ways to organize and manage in an increasingly DANCE-world (Dynamic. Ambiguous. Non-Linear. Complex. Emergent). It puts the management DNA under the microscope, and shows how to develop, build and transform organizational project management and PMO capabilities essential for effective strategy execution. It provides a framework to measure what matters with a step-by-step approach to define and measure success and business value.

The DNA of Strategy Execution: Next Generation Project Management and PMO provides innovative insights for organizational project management and PMO. Based on application and learnings from many organizations around the world, this book reveals a playbook for strategy execution that will help you:

• Decode the core elements of management and strategy execution DNA
• Design and build next-generation Project/Program Management and PMO platform essential for effective strategy execution
• Prepare your organization to effectively lead and implement agile transformation and organizational change
• Improve organizational project management (OPM) and PMO maturity
• Improve overall organizational effectiveness and innovation capabilities

Whether you are a part of a startup, or an established incumbent organization, the impact of digitization and disruption requires a rethink and reset of how we organize and manage. This book presents a playbook for effective strategy execution with next-generation Project, Program and PMO capabilities.

1
INTRODUCTION: STRATEGY EXECUTION IN A DANCE‐WORLD

“The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Marcel Proust

Imagine your organization is a mirror. In the beginning, when you are getting started, you can look in the mirror and see; you can connect and organize various aspects of the business, and it is manageable. As the organization grows, the mirror multiplies. There is addition of new mirrors of different sizes and shapes. Soon, it starts to get muddled with multiple mirrors and, you can't see clearly anymore. It appears that everyone seems to be working hard, but there is confusion. Execution does not mirror strategy, and there is no alignment between different parts. It makes sense to organize the mirror into more manageable divisions. You reorganize and break down the mirror with good intentions to better manage it. What do you think predictably happens?

On the surface, it looks like the resulting divisions and silos are well organized and working. But you don't realize that the organization is like a mirror, and as you divide and reorganize it, it is bound to crack and fracture in unpredictable ways. It is a broken mirror, and no matter how hard you try to bring it together, it is not going to look the same again. It causes organizational dysfunction, finger pointing, mixed priorities, and confusion—far from the much‐needed clarity and coherence in an increasingly complex world.

Does this sound familiar? This is far too pervasive in organizations, from start‐ups to incumbent companies and government organizations only with exponential complexity.

A 100‐year‐old iconic company that has been a leader in its domain has enjoyed sustained growth and profitability. Over the years, they have excelled at fine‐tuning supply chains and gaining efficiencies. But like many businesses, it is struggling to survive and reinvent itself as it faces declining revenues and disruption from digitization and related competition. Recently, it reorganized into three business units to become more customer focused. There are over 100 projects and initiatives across these business units, and some of them are redundant. Each of the business heads is busy reorganizing and ramping up their areas. What is a predictable outcome? Is this going to help bring the organization together and get focused to meet the challenge head‐on? What if they put together an organization like a project management office (PMO) to review and prioritize projects at the enterprise level? The challenge is that they have had several PMOs over the years with marginal success. Some were perceived as the process police and others as bureaucratic overhead. How can the PMO reinvent itself and support strategy execution in a holistic way?

On the other end of the spectrum is the typically chaotic world of start‐ups. Too many priorities that keep changing. Disdain for process and governance. Decisions are made, but no one knows who made them or who is in charge. Products and offerings keep changing. Frequent reshuffling and reorganizing. It seems like people are working hard and putting in a lot of hours, but there is a disconnect between strategy and execution. Culture is pervasive with heroism and firefighting as they espouse flat structures and holocracy. Too much time and money are burned in the name of failing fast, speed and agility. How could we maintain the start‐up spirit of innovation and agility with some structure and discipline?

“Look out the window, not in the mirror,” challenged legendary management consultant, educator, and author, Peter Drucker. As we look out the window and reflect the different organizations we have worked with over the past 17 years, crucial questions resound consistently: How can we connect the siloes and link the various execution activities with the overall strategy in a holistic way? How do we manage in a disruptive world that is constantly in flux? Are we stuck in traditional management approaches that don't work anymore? We are trying iterative, incremental, and agile approaches, but do not see the results—what do we do?

In the quest for better organization and management, many practices have continued to evolve over the past 150 years—from Fredrick Taylor's scientific principles of management to Six Sigma, to current‐day lean, agile, and hordes of variations in between. These practices have been applied with varying degrees of success depending on the organizational context, culture, and time frame. Some emphasize operational efficiencies and zone‐in on execution; others focus on strategy and business effectiveness, while others espouse governance and control. In the nineteenth century, management consisted of six functions, according to Henri Fayol, considered to be one of the founders of modern management: forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Toward the end of the twentieth century, business management came to consist of six separate branches: financial management, human resources, information technology, marketing, operations, and strategic management.

As organizations evolve in size, scale, and complexity, there is more and more separation between various elements. In particular, the chasm between strategy and execution grows to the point that it is hard for the people involved in executing projects to be able to connect to the strategy or be aware of the business purpose and alignment, while the people responsible for strategy blame execution for not achieving results and vice versa.

The questions that sparked this book are: What if we could decode the DNA of effective strategy execution? Just as DNA contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms, is there a code or blueprint containing the elements of management and strategy execution? How could the strands of the DNA be used to connect strategy and execution in a holistic way? How can we develop the next generation of practical project management and PMOs practices that can complement and enhance contemporary approaches like lean and agile? Is there a way to design an organizational mosaic and connect disparate pieces that provide sustainable results and value holistically?

This book is designed to inquire into these questions to gain new perspectives on age‐old management challenges and illuminate better ways to organize, manage, and execute strategy.

The future of work is project‐based, and more and more organizations are project‐based. In this book we focus on how organizations can identify and develop the DNA elements to build a strategy‐execution platform with next‐generation project management and PMO capabilities. As we will demonstrate, decoding the DNA of strategy execution can be beneficial in any organization—whether it is an incumbent company, or a startup, or a non–project‐based operational environment, the DNA of management is the same and can be applied as a foundational aspect alongside other approaches.

Many organizations have implemented varying degrees of project management practices and established PMOs to coordinate and monitor projects and strategic initiatives. PMOs have become a common fixture in organizations but are not necessarily perceived as a high value, breakthrough management idea. They are typically implemented in a limited way based on traditional management paradigms. According to multiple surveys, including an ongoing survey we have been conducting at the Projectize Group since 2005, the success rate has hovered in the 50 percent range over the past 12 years.

RECOGNIZE THE DANCE: THE NEED TO RETHINK AND REDESIGN

“Any company designed for success in the 20th century is doomed to failure in the 21st.”

David S. Rose, Angel Investing

How do we redesign project management and PMOs for the twenty‐first century? First, we have to start by understanding the foundation from which traditional management processes have evolved. As the world was becoming more industrialized in the twentieth century, there was a need for systematic approaches and standardization to gain efficiencies. These scientific prin...