elearnspace

Strategy execution

Strategy execution presents two opposing perspectives on how to set and achieve strategy in an organization. The first - more traditional - involves leaders determining strategy and "cascading" it through the organization. The second is more informal and involves leadership getting out the way and letting people innovate. Context plays a key role in which model to use and when. Personally, I'm increasingly uncomfortable with "point-based" thinking where we create positions and contrast them (how many times haven't we seen the table in conference presentations comparing lecturing to learner-centered teaching, or web 1.0 to web 2.0). Continuum-based thinking is more reflective of reality. The clear distinctions often made between two separate ideas serve very little practical value beyond an introduction to new ideas. Eventually, we need to recognize a gradient exists, and context determines where on the gradient our actions or strategies lie.