Putting a strategy map to work
Visualising the way forward
Critical research shows that one of the reasons why business strategies stumble and fall short, is a lack of shared vision throughout the organisation.
In most organisations, senior management is tasked with the development of strategy. On completion, the new strategy then cascades down to middle managers for implementation.
But for this process to be successful, senior managers must be equipped to articulate the strategy clearly and succinctly. And they must have the ability to communicate the strategy effectively, making it relevant and inclusive. For, ultimately, it is senior management’s responsibility to turn strategy into action.
Only, studies show that, irrespective of industry or sector, lower-level employees have little to no knowledge of their organisation’s goals, and even less idea of how of their functional roles contribute to the organisation’s strategy.
One way to solve this problem is to use a strategy map. A strategy map is a visual communication tool that enables people to understand organisational strategy, and how to translate it into individual, actionable activities. At its simplest, a strategy map is a diagrammatic representation of the organisation’s strategy that acts as a framework to document strategic goals, as well as the high-level requirements to achieve those goals.
Without a strategy map, an organisation’s KPIs will be limited to operations, rather strategic communications.
The eValue Strategy Map
eValue is a performance management survey and scorecard. Unlike most traditional surveys, every question is linked back to your organisation’s specific strategic objectives and business goals. Whether you are driving specific strategies or even measuring the implementation of your overall organisational strategy or specific initiatives, eValue provides instant feedback in real time, enabling accelerated action planning and improvements.
The eValue strategy map is created around questions, such as, “what are we trying to achieve?” and “what are the resources, systems and activities that will make this happen?” In essence, a strategy map raises the level of dialogue from discussions around operations to strategy and strategy implementation, helping to systematically design measures that align with an organisation’s goals.
So, whether you are looking at the organisation as a whole, or constituent elements, such as organisational culture and engagement, or external factors, like customer and channel satisfaction, the advantages of mapping business strategy are multiple.
The benefits of mapping your strategy
- It captures strategy into a single, succinct framework
- It helps to facilitate discussion around relevant OKRs
- It helps to identify key focus areas
Using the eValue strategy map helps monitor progress in a dynamic environment, enabling new information to be fed into the framework achieving higher efficacy and better results.