Bridging the gap: making strategy a reality

Particularly for businesses amid a digital transformation, responding too slowly to change can be disastrous. Organizations need to be agile and flexible in their strategy cycles. But there is more to being adaptable than simply making a strategic pivot. Even the most analytically sound strategies often fail to achieve their intended goals without a coherent and flexible implementation plan in place. However, digital solutions can be costly and must be appropriately safeguarded, integrated, and managed to mitigate risks.

Identifying gaps between strategy and execution, making use of insights on customers and competitors, and engaging with stakeholders and employees from the outset can help inform decision-making. Once a strategy is outlined and clearly communicated, the focus must shift to how it is put into action. And with artificial intelligence (AI) driving innovation across all industries, there is an unexplored opportunity in strategy implementation and execution.

What begins as small lapses of implementation can spiral into larger business failures. “Bridging the Gap: Making Strategy a Reality,” a discussion programmed by Economist Impact and sponsored by Planview, convenes a panel of experts to explore new ways to address the gap between strategy and execution. Together, they will seek to analyze how businesses can effectively allocate resources, collaborate, and communicate with all stakeholders, drive accountability, and employ new technology — all to improve the chances of success.

Discussion points will include:

• Why is addressing the strategy-implementation gap essential to digital transformation?
• Where are the existing and new gaps in implementation that lead to failure?
• What must companies do to achieve the agility and capacity for innovation they need to make their strategies a success?
• How can the teams formulating strategy and the teams implementing it align their responsibilities and accountabilities?
• What skills and tools do workforces need to bring strategies to life?
• How can the latest technologies — particularly AI — be made a part of strategy implementation?