Marketing a Strategy Internally

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‘Strategy’ is a great word but it should be used with caution. It has its own definition at different levels of the organization. A company will have many strategies in place to sail through today’s highly competitive business environment.

The founders of the company have a vision but the strategies that the managers design and implement, will decide how well and quick realization of the vision is possible. Though the top management’s nod is necessary to implement a strategy, a manager’s role is the predominant one. The success of a strategy is highly dependent not just on great design but also on the implementation plan and the level of commitment from players involved.

The design of a strategy, its fit to the current scenario and the company's abilities are taken care of by the top management and managers. But when it comes to implementation the players involved are new. They include lower level managers, senior executives and other staff. Involving them in designing the strategy will create unnecessary ambiguity and most of the time, it is not possible too. The successful implementation of any strategy depends on the enthusiasm, dedication and commitment of these resources. So it is important for any manager to successfully disseminate the strategy and its aims to the lower levels. Therefore, marketing the strategy internally is vital for a successful implementation.

Many companies spend lot of time in designing a strategy by way of meetings, discussions, brain storming sessions and presentations. But when it comes to implementation, it is more to do with delegation than any of the above. Delegation work well, but when we are talking about things like owning the strategy at the lower order of the organization to ensure commitment, we need more than just mere delegation.

Communication is a vital tool to pass on the strategy to the lower order of the organization. It is important as to how a manager communicates the strategy to his subordinates. He should take into consideration the audience and their role in implementing the strategy. For instance, the way a manager explains the strategy to a senior executive should ideally differ from the explanation to a shop floor worker / a lead generator. How successfully he delivers the content to specific audience has a significant effect on factors like commitment, dedication and quality.

Contributed by Sai Sandeep B V