6 rules for Strategic Alignment.

Every strategy book and article I have ever read talks about “alignment” as the holy grail of effective strategy implementation, but rarely have I seen it articulated in simple terms that are easily communicated.

So here goes:

1. Ensure there is an open, widely discussed, open to feedback process to articulate “where we are going”
2. Ensure the individual performance evaluation process is linked to the “where are we going” question so that the individual, when answering the question “where am I going” sees his/her personal best interest is served by the organisation.
3. Ensure there is some sort of recognition process in place, so that individuals outstanding performance in delivering towards the strategic priorities can be widely recognised. It is these stories that make up the fabric of the organisational culture.
4. Ensure that continuous improvement is a natural part of everyone’s everyday activity.  
5. Ensure that leadership at every level is evident in the willingness to help others do better
6. As above, except that every individual should be open to ways in which they can do better.

If all the above is happening, I’ll bet there is a great degree of alignment.

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