The Value of Business Analytics: Identifying the Path to Profitability

ROLE OF THE EXECUTION PLAN

Effective teams balance the need for immediate value against the creation of competitive advantage. Critically, this usually needs to occur within a context of constrained resources. Most managers not only need to deliver, they also need to work out ways of increasing their team’s productivity levels.

A good execution plan helps the team do a few things. It:

• Defines the direction being taken
• Communicates this direction in practical terms to the broader organization
• Prioritizes activity and establishes how value will be maintained
• Identifies how tactical initiatives will translate into competitive advantage
• Balances organizational value creation against productivity improvements, allowing the team to scale

Creating a competitive advantage is not easy; if it were, it would not be a competitive advantage. Importantly, though, it is not impossible: It simply requires an understanding of where this advantage will come from, how it aligns to the organization’s business model, and a plan to get there. Defining this longer-term plan does two things. First, it allows managers to identify the sequence of steps necessary to create competitive advantage. Second, it allows them to socialize this direction with the rest of the organization and achieve internal commitment to that path.

Once this direction has been established, the individual steps need to be executed. This requires a series of tactical delivery plans that identify the resources needed, the approach that ...