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Vague management-speak dooms business strategies.

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorTownley, Gemma
PositionBrief Article

The best strategies will fail if everyone is able to interpret nebulous terms differently. Gemma Townley reports from the IIR Leading Minds conference

Implementing a new business strategy often fails because each member of the management team interprets the strategy in a different way. Nebulous terms such as "improved customer satisfaction" can be achieved in very different ways and, unless the "customer" is clearly defined, such a strategy can work against you, according to Robert Kaplan, Martin Bower professor of leadership development at Harvard Business School and chairman of the Balanced Scorecard collaborative.

Speaking at an IIR Leading Minds conference, Kaplan argued that even implementing a scorecard approach does not ensure success. "In one case, a bank's strategy was to offer products and services which were accessible to clients anywhere in the world. But they couldn't get the IT to work, and they failed," he explained.

"On closer inspection, the IT, department had its own strategy, with benchmarks, and it was doing very well -- answering all calls within a certain timescale and so on. The trouble was, it was working to its own goals, and not the company goals. All departments need to be aligned to the overall strategy of the business, or you won't succeed."

Such an approach is essential when changes are being brought in. "Unless everyone is focused on the same goal, different departments will go off on...

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