The heart of all businesses are people, yet this is often overlooked in a strategic planning process. Developing a strategy is relatively easy, but implementing and achieving it is difficult because of the people gap.
A few years ago we worked with a product marketing team to turn around a failing brand. The product was losing over a percent of market share per month to its direct competitors. We had to turn things around quickly.
The two departments had different objectives:
- The marketing team was measured and rewarded on market share.
- The sales team was measured and rewarded on budget.
All great businesses are built by people — smart, ambitious, creative people. People like you that care deeply about the work we do and the brands we are growing.
Put the HR questions at the forefront when developing your strategy:
- Who here is part of the team moving forward, and who has stopped growing and can’t keep up?
- Is everyone aligned, rewarded, and empowered to implement the strategy?
- Does the leadership team have the support and coaching they require to do what’s expected of them?