Greek Case Study - More Learnings

In one of our recent posts we outlined the shortcomings of effective strategy execution during Greece's crisis. There is more to add:

• All issues of lacking strategy execution are closely linked to the quality of leadership. You could argue about the leaders and their leadership skills, but this is not my point. More importantly, I bet that some essentials of outstanding leadership (which would be needed in the given situation) are not met, such as a consistent communication to all relevant stakeholders, high meeting effectiveness, and decision-making, leaving ambiguity behind.
• It is all about process, not content. The content (What) of the strategy and the tactics is defined by hundreds of experts. They might be right or wrong. However, the most dramatic failings are assigned to the processes (How), not only in Greece, but in most organizations. Why? Because content is discussed most of the time by mostly competent people. The process of execution is normally not the key expertise of any organization. This is the reason why external people are in most cases more effective in setting up the framework for execution than internal employees.

 How well are these two aspects addressed in your organization?