It is amazing to me the breakdown that exists in most organizations. More specifically, the communication breakdown relative to a company’s go-to-market strategy.
When you survey leaders, managers and frontline employees at most organizations, these critical stakeholders do not even know what the company’s go-to-market strategy is. Let alone, how the strategy pertains to their daily work activities. In fact, research conducted by Metrus Group discovered that only 14% percent of employees understand the organization’s strategy, and less than 10% percent of all organizations successfully execute the strategy.
Strategies are only effective when they are executed — and executed consistently. The cornerstone of effective execution is awareness and understanding. This can only be achieved through persistent and consistent communication of the strategy.
More than anything else, business performance is negatively impacted from poor communication of strategy. And a significant shortfall in business performance today can be directly attributed to lack of “communication accountability” up and down the organization.
Who owns communication accountability – especially as it pertains to strategy?
The CEO and C-suite. Period.
Modern CEOs are quickly acknowledging this. In fact, in the study, “Communication from the CEO’s perspective – an underestimated challenge?”, CEOs surveyed said they believe communication has itself become part of the strategy and therefore a core business management function in its own right.
So, while Gartner has long projected that companies will compete based on “customer experience,” we believe that the competitive battle will be fought and won by those companies that achieve and maintain organizational alignment in support of a clearly communicated strategy.
Now, don’t confuse simply having a strategy with achieving success. After all, almost every company has a strategy. Only those CEOs and C-suite executives who take the time to document, translate and communicate that strategy over a sustained period of time … will win.
A study conducted by FTI Consulting reinforced the connection between strategy and communication. It discovered that high-performing organizations establish and maintain intentional connections between the individuals who develop the strategy, those who manage the strategy and, ultimately, those who execute the strategy.
The key word is intentional. This means if you want your go-to-market strategy to translate into flawless execution, you must intentionally craft a message around the strategy that is relevant and meaningful to those who manage and execute it. This also means you must have intentional communication processes in place to ensure that message gets through.
While results from FTI’s most recent study did find that, year over year, CEOs have increased the weight they place on communication – it also clearly illustrated that communication of strategy remains a problem. The study still found that a major cause of failed strategies continues to be a lack of understanding and support from key constituencies. What this means is, most CEOs and C-suite executives are not placing enough energy, resources and time behind the communication initiatives required to foster awareness and understanding of their strategy.
Do you want to win? Do you want your strategy to materialize into measurable results? It’s time to elevate communication on your priority list. It’s time for you and the entire C-suite to ensure every employee has a deep, meaningful connection to your go-to-market strategy and how it impacts their job.
