DISCUSS STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION(FRED DAVID,2003)
A strategy is no more than a piece of paper, if people at the bottom of the pyramid do not know what to do with it. The front line is where value is being created, where the rubber meets the road.
Getting the Buy-In of Informal Leaders
While most organizations have a well-defined formal leadership structure, it is quite often observed that the real centres of power/influence do not vest with them. So a critical step is these "informal" leaders. They often boast of disproportionate influence/power. It is these informal leaders who can play a significant role in setting the agenda or setting the pace for implementation. It is they who influence canteen conversations about what the new strategy is supposed to accomplish.
So getting a buy-in from these informal leaders is an imperative for successful implementation. And any process of creating a buy-in is a two-way dialogue process. One thing that influencers are sensitive to is the risks that they face. Using this as a starting point, one can discuss of how the strategy will mitigate the risks.
These 'hot buttons' create high degree of involvement amongst the influencers and develops a consensus and commitment for execution. While the top management must communicate openly and honestly, it must also be receptive to feedback/changes/trade offs.
One widely used methodology for identifying the informal leaders in a very structured manner is social network analysis. Alternatively this can be also be done by doing interviews and using a questionnaire who the key influencers are.