The essential structural and tactical elements that underpin successful strategy execution in AEC.
Why do so many firms stumble or fail during strategy execution? In the AEC industry, while strategic growth planning tends to be a top-down process, execution requires a bottom-up approach – a complex, collaborative effort that demands more than just adherence to tactics and structure.
Most failures in execution stem not merely from tactical or structural inadequacies but from not fully engaging the “village” needed to bring strategic visions to life. For strategies to truly materialize and succeed, discipline and a well-defined structure serve as essential foundations, yet they are not sufficient on their own.
AEC leaders must go beyond these basics by deeply understanding the core influencers of employee experience. After all, it is these employees, at every level of the organization, who are tasked with turning the firm’s strategic growth plans into reality. Recognizing and enhancing the factors that shape their work environment is crucial for enabling effective strategy execution.
In this series, I’m going to break successful strategy execution into two parts:
- “Strategy Execution Essentials,” this article, addresses the foundational elements critical to implementing and executing strategic growth plans effectively within the AEC industry.
- “Advanced Strategy Execution,” to be featured in our next issue, will highlight the crucial role of employee experience in maximizing strategic outcomes and how intentionally mobilizing this “village” can transform the execution process.
First things first, let’s go back to basics. Before we delve into the complexities of strategy execution, it’s crucial to grasp the fundamental elements from both structural and tactical perspectives that underpin successful outcomes.
After the often exciting and yet challenging task of developing, communicating, and implementing a strategic growth plan – a process that can take anywhere from three months to a year for an AEC firm – it’s essential that the firm is well-positioned for effective execution.
While specific factors may vary based on each firm’s unique needs and circumstances, the following five universal elements are critical for cementing structure, discipline, and sustained momentum throughout the execution phase while ensuring clarity, accountability, and alignment across the organization. These five elements include:
- Designated strategy champion at the highest level. Ensure there is a company-wide strategy champion (chief strategy officer or equivalent) responsible for orchestrating, managing, and overseeing the entire execution process. This role is crucial for aligning efforts across different departments and teams, ensuring seamless execution. While having dedicated champions for each strategic pillar is important, true advancement in execution efficacy requires a high-level leader. This leader is pivotal in enhancing synergy, eliminating duplicative efforts, breaking down silos, and consistently revealing hidden opportunities, all of which are only achievable with strong, centralized leadership at the top of the organization.
- Clear role definitions and decision rights. Assign specific roles and decision-making powers to ensure clarity and minimize overlaps or confusion across the firm. Ensure that individuals tasked with driving strategies or initiatives have timely access to the necessary information and fully understand their responsibilities. This clarity extends to the scope of their decision-making authority, ensuring each team member is aware of the decisions and actions they are accountable for. By establishing such a framework, the firm cultivates a culture of trust where decisions, once made, are confidently executed and rarely second-guessed.
- Structured communication processes. Establish regular and clear communication channels to keep everyone aligned and informed, utilizing both internal and external, digital and physical methods. Strategic communication across the organization is essential for providing timely updates, maintaining momentum, and energizing teams. It plays a key role in celebrating successes, boosting performance, and fostering a culture of growth and continuous learning. Optimize impact by leveraging a variety of channels that suit your firm’s needs, including newsletters, CEO updates, town hall meetings, performance reviews, and one-on-one discussions, just to name a few. The goal is to ensure each message reaches its intended audience through the most effective medium.
- Regular strategy review meetings. Set a distinct routine for periodic strategic reviews, separate from operational assessments, to ensure a dedicated focus on long-term goals. These sessions, integral to embedding strategic execution into the company’s cultural DNA, should occur at least quarterly for less mature firms. However, high-performing organizations often discuss strategic plans more frequently, integrating these deliberations into monthly or even weekly executive and senior leadership meetings. Having a consistent cadence of strategy review meetings (which are different than operational meetings) is what sets high-performing AEC firms apart by ensuring that strategy is continuously prioritized, not merely addressed sporadically or when time permits.
- Accountability systems. Implement systems that rigorously track progress and measure outcomes, directly connecting performance with strategic goals. These systems should offer transparent visibility into the success of strategic initiatives and inform future actions. Before making adjustments to your strategic growth plan (such as timelines, KPIs, or responsible owners), the AEC firm should first investigate the underlying reasons for any deviations from the plan. Accountability is a commitment and involves vulnerability and conviction; the objective is not to assign blame or gloss over progress but to responsibly and genuinely identify and address obstacles. What you’re ultimately aiming for is to reinforce a culture of growth and resilience, where challenges are met with proactive solutions, propelling the firm toward continued success and improvement.
As mentioned at the beginning of my article, “Strategy Execution Essentials” lays the groundwork for understanding the essential structural and tactical elements that underpin successful strategy execution in the AEC industry. While these components form the backbone of any strategic endeavor, they represent just the beginning of building a robust execution framework.
Next week, in “Advanced Strategy Execution,” I will explore a more complex yet intriguing aspect of strategy execution: the integration of employee experience influencers. This discussion will uncover how deeply understanding and actively enhancing these elements can mobilize the “village” to maximize strategic success for the entire organization. Stay tuned for next week’s issue; in the meantime, reach out to me if you need support or are up for a chat.
Ying Liu, MBA, LEED AP BD+C is director of growth consulting at Zweig Group. Contact her at yliu@zweiggroup.com.
