Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change, Second Edition

Chapter 6. Incentives and Controls: Supporting and Reinforcing Execution

Introduction

The last element of the execution model presented in Chapter 2 is incentive and controls. Both affect strategy execution. Incentives motivate behavior toward ends or actions consistent with desired execution outcomes. Controls provide feedback about performance, reinforce execution methods, provide a “corrective” mechanism, and allow for organizational learning and adaptation.

The last point about learning and adaptation is especially important. In industries that are becoming increasingly competitive and, in some cases, extremely volatile, learning quickly ...