How to Use a Strategy Map to Perform a Quick Strategy Check

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How to Use a Strategy Map to Perform a Quick Strategy Check

🔥 During a recent consulting assignment to investigate a range of growth options for a small non-profit, I was handed a five-page document which the client called "their five-year strategic plan".
This afforded the opportunity to conduct a Quick Strategy Check to take stock of the way the client was executing their existing plans and objectives.

What's a Quick Strategy Check?

A Quick Strategy Check is a strategy analysis process where we take a documented strategic plan and run an evaluation to determine:

• Does the documented strategy fit together properly?
• Is the strategy coherent and complete?
• Are the targeted objectives explicit and measurable?
• Does it address the organisation's needs?
• Is it executable?

In this particular case, the plan looked reasonably well-structured at first glance. The front page had four columns, labelled:

• Customer Focus
• Financial Sustainability
• Operational Excellence
• Social Responsibility

Under each column heading there were four or five numbered objectives, expressed in very broad terms.
Each subsequent page was headed with one of the above four column headings, and another three columns, headed:

• Plans
• Actions
• Timeframe

For obvious reasons I can't go into the actual detailed content, but I can say that when I put the "Plans" items, which were generally expressed as an objective, into a strategy map, it immediately became obvious there were no Internal Process objectives and very few Learning and Growth Objectives. The mapping process makes not only the strategy very visible, but also missing chunks become conspicuous by their absence! The gaps in the map tell the story...

The client had expressed some metrics in some of their actions items, but in general, there were far too many objectives which had no way to be measured.
Linking the objectives into a cause and effect diagram using arrows was exceptionally difficult, as there was no rational flow between one layer of execution and another.

So what did we learn?

1. Wordy, jargon-filled, complex strategy documents can be simplified to their bare essence by turning the verbiage into a strategy map which presents a clear visual presentation of the plan.
2. Sometimes the gaps in the map tell you more than the parts that are properly completed.
3. The cause and effect hierarchy is incredibly important when you are trying to execute.
4. If you can't draw a sensible connection between initiatives to create a logical flow between cause and effect, you're almost certainly missing some strategic initiatives that are needed to make the execution succeed. At the Internal Process level, ask the question, what MUST be done, what is ESSENTIAL to make the objectives above executable?
5. If you don't have rational metrics in place, the initiative probably won't get done, and if it does, you'll have no way of knowing how well. You can only manage what you can measure.

⇨ What are your thoughts on using strategy mapping as a tool to do a strategy check?

		Comments by date▼ Comments by rating Rating
		1 Theophilus Mothusi Melaetsa HR Consultant, Botswana
	Quick Strategy Check and Resource Allocation An insightful article Chris Blackman, you are right: a quick strategy check is important. In my view it should be done immediately after the first draft of the strategy is completed. This will provide the executive management the chance to identify and correct any gaps before the final strategy document is submitted and presented to the approval committee structure of an organisation, e.g., the Board of Directors. I noticed that many organisations, especially if they develop their strategy in house, skip the cause - effect hierarchy, or they do not do justice to it, by not spending enough time deliberating on it. My believe is that Strategy Development shouldn't be rushed, all the key components of the process should be allocated adequate time. A crucial part of the strategy development process is the resources allocation to the strategic objectives and initiatives. These are the enablers to the execution of the strategy. These resources allocation include the human and financial capital and financial. A strategy map is a good high-end first step for such cause-effect hierarchy and resource allocation.

		2 Sashi Rao Management Consultant, India
	Strategy Maps for Cause and Effects @Theophilus Mothusi Melaetsa: I fully endorse the comments made by you about finding and allocating resources for implementing the strategy. These are vital elements and should form part of the strategy formulation process. Quite often, we have seen that conflicting objectives and their 'cause and effect ' are not properly understood nor made integral to the strategy.

		0 Chris Blackman Business Consultant, Australia
	Perhaps Because Strategy is Supposedly a Core Skill? @Theophilus Mothusi Melaetsa: I've noticed the same, Theophilus. I think the cause is that management thinks strategy is a core skill and can be in-sourced. In my experience better results are obtained using an independent person to help guide the management team's thoughts and their strategic process.

		3 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Role of Strategy Maps in Strategy Development and Quick Checks Strengths of strategy maps are that they help the team to thoroughly consider and communicate the strategic objectives and the main links to the chosen (4) perspectives of strategy execution as well as to reach organizational alignment about them. If some of the links are missing or weak, this might indicate an area that has received insufficient attention. So I agree with Chris Blackman that a quick strategy check using a strategy map can help to reveal that situation. Note though that a strategy map is a high level instrument. It does not do much to support the actual quality / depth of the strategic vision and thinking itself.

		-2 rustenburg Business Consultant, Netherlands
	Strategy Check A quick strategy check is a continuous process. Determination of the hygienic & visionary CSF's are needed too. Evalution of the human resource is crucial. Are the Knowledge, Experience & Skills (KES) at a satisfactory level? Idem for the intra-functional and inter-functional competences. Without competences, sustainable competitive advantanges can not be realised in the organisation.

		1 Nick Duffill, United Kingdom
	Quality and Depth of Strategic Thinking @Jaap de Jonge: I agree a key reason for using strategy maps is to communicate strategy at all levels. Communication forces quality and depth into the open, highlighting opportunities to strengthen th...

		1 Maurice Hogarth Consultant, United Kingdom
	Mapping Strategy First Somewhat confused. The title of the article starts with "How to..." It then states that a Strategy Map was used to assess a written statement, that it gave a number of benefits and goes on to advocat...

		1 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	This Discussion @Maurice Hogarth: All agreed Maurice, using a Strategy Map to do a Quick Check of an already existing strategy is probably not its primary purpose. It's not why Kaplan and Norton invented it. However ...

		2 Chris Blackman Business Consultant, Australia
	Mapping Strategy First @Maurice Hogarth: Maurice, I'm in heated agreement with you. I think it's important to think of the development of strategy, and the execution of it, and an iterative or closed loop process where the ...

		1 Maurice Hogarth Consultant, United Kingdom
	Mapping Strategy @Chris Blackman and @Jaap de Jonge I understand and accept your points. While working with a major organisation in the '70s a strategy was presented to the board - requiring the investment, as I reme...