Winning Without Competition: How to Break Out of a Commodity ...

Strategic Alignment: Creating Differentiation in Fact
versus in Theory
Key Messages
• Strategy without execution is a plan that sits on a shelf, at least until next year.
Communication of the competitive strategy and alignment of departmental
and team actions to the strategy is required to create the desired
differentiation.
• Annual plans are the current year execution of strategies; they are the
itineraries for attaining the organization’s strategic goals and vision.
• The marketing-sales plan, operational plan, leadership plan, and financial
plan must be aligned with one another.
• Process improvement that is not linked to creating a meaningful point of
distinction from the competition is a feel-good exercise that will help the
bottom line in the short term, but is unlikely to create a meaningful shift in
your market position.
• The Balanced Score Card is a useful tool for measuring whether strategy is
being executed and whether the strategy is having its anticipated effect on key
performance measures. Linking individual and process objectives to balanced
score card measures is a critical part of alignment.
• The leadership team plan is also a critical part of alignment. It will insure that
the organization creates future leaders and that today’s leaders are doing the
work only they can do: setting direction and creating change to align the
organization to create its desired future.
• Systematic review of market changes will help the organization evolve its
competitive strategy so as to maintain differentiation. A marketing
department plays a critical role in this process.
• There are two types of marketing – strategic and tactical. Tactical marketing
decisions, e.g., pricing and advertising are – for the most part – the domain of
the marketing professional, working in collaboration with the Sales
Department. Strategic marketing decisions, e.g., competitive and growth
strategy decisions, must rest with the entire leadership team. The Marketing
Department creates the strategic analysis used by the leadership team to both
identify strategic issues and opportunities and define new strategies.
• Ignoring needed marketing activities is like driving without being able to see
beyond two feet. Organizations without strong marketing skills are generally
unfocused and reactive.
• Sales and Marketing serve different roles in a company. There is great danger
in combining the two roles in the same person as sales requirements always
win out over marketing. Sales is the most expensive resource in the company.
You must therefore minimize how much time is spent on non-selling
activities. Don’t ask sales people to do Marketing’s work.
Pamphlet #5 Page 184