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Published on April 25, 2008

Pichaya Changsorn

The Nation

 IMD professor Bettina Buchel, who used to work in Thailand as a lecturer at the Asian Institute of Technology, said the Thai culture of "not putting fish on the table" was an obstacle to successful execution.

On the other hand, Thai companies may have an edge in their culture of stimulating excitement and having fun in the process - or having the "play to win" attitude, said the IMD professor for strategy and organisation.

"Play to win" is the fourth of seven steps identified in "Smarter Execu-tion: Seven Steps to Getting Results", which Buchel co-authored with Xavier Gilbert and Rhoda Davidson.

Some companies will find it easier to apply the seven steps and improve execution success. This depends on how much "counter culture" they have had. For example, firms which have never had a follow-up system or those that have the silo organisational structure will require extra effort. There is also the learning curve, Buchel said.

The seven guidelines to smarter execution are:

Focus First: The first step is to "focus, focus and focus". Pick a few initiatives to implement. Take not only short-term, but also medium- and long-term concerns into consideration.

Pick the Best Possible Team:

Recruit the best people, not just the people who are available, because these people will implement the strategic priorities of the company. Continuous senior management support is also crucial.

Set the Course: Since accomplishing a strategic initiative may take time, it is important that you have set the course to have a few successes early on.

Play to Win: It requires energy, excitement, emotional spirit and commitment of people involved in the strategic plan.

Think It Through: Thorough advance thinking is a must. Think through the resources that will be required, review key success factors of your execution steps and assess while being prepared for execution risks.

Get All Aboard: For a strategic initiative, no routines apply. The challenge is that most parts of the organisation do not expect to be called on. It starts with the senior management who get back to their preferred occupation as soon as the initiative has been launched. Meanwhile, the silo mindset that prevails in many organisations means that when you have a job to do, you just do it without checking with anyone else.

Follow Through: Most managers don't like to follow up, saying they trust their people. But  you need to constantly review how you have performed and how to improve.

Buchel said her next book would be about "the role of pilots" - how to test and learn first before widespread implementation.