Prioritize strategic imperatives

 

CREATE A PROCESS THAT ENSURES SUCCESS

Far more firms fail due to poor execution than a flawed strategy. So linking strategy to tactics is critical. If strategy-making is viewed as the process through which a company learns what works and what doesn't, then the feedback loop of execution is as important to strategy as is analysis and forecasting.

Establish accountability

focus on activities with the most impact

RED forges a tighter link between strategy and execution, and keeps that link tight through quarterly strategy resets. The focus is always on the 20% of the activities that will generate 80% of the strategic results, and on rigorously precise action plans for achieving these imperatives. This execution management discipline ensures that the organization stays tightly focused on those things that really matter — and that it follows through on its commitments.

The REDMethods™ System

Detailed action plans are captured real-time in REDMethods™, which is fully accessible to all RED Team members.

The system is updated continuously as strategic milestones are reached and as new strategic initiatives are launched — allowing the RED team to track the latest developments in the firm and to integrate multi-departmental initiatives and streamline update meetings and communication.

Drive effective execution by codifying learning

We've incorporated one of the most important disciplines employed by military planners, the After Action Review. After an engagement, soldiers and officers meet to make a rigorous assessment of the battle just fought — what went wrong and what went right — and especially what can be learned to improve performance in similar situations in the future. It's a straightforward and proven means of linking strategy to tactics.  RED 90-day Strategy Resets ensure teams the opportunity to look back on the previous 90 days and identify the most important strategic lessons learned. This helps to ensure that organizational learning occurs at all levels and is quickly codified and communicated.

“RED™ forces us every 90 days to reprioritize and to focus ruthlessly on the things that are most important. When your business is more than doubling every year, the kind of discipline that RED™ brings is critical.”
— Steve Olson, CEO, The Olson Company