Even the most compelling strategy is useless if it isn’t implemented. But in many companies, no one’s driving execution. CEOs, grappling with the complexity of doing business in a global economy, are too overloaded to stay on top of strategy implementation. COOs and CFOs are too wrapped up in day-to-day dealings.

Some companies, including AIG, Kimberly-Clark, Motorola, and Yahoo!, have discovered a way to fill the execution void: hire a chief strategy officer. CSOs ensure corporate strategy gets translated into action, say Breene, Nunes, and Shill. CSOs communicate strategy to people throughout the organization and help them see how their work supports it. They ride herd on change initiatives needed to carry out strategy. And they make sure decisions at all levels align with strategic objectives.

Hire a CSO, and you help your senior team deliver faster, better decisions while building world-class execution capabilities throughout your company.

The Idea in Practice

Why You Need a Chief Strategy Officer

CSOs handle three critical strategy implementation tasks:

• Engendering commitment to strategic plans. CSOs articulate a clear definition of your company’s strategy and explain how each person’s work relates to it. This clarity enables CSOs to build the federation necessary to put strategic plans into action.

• Driving immediate change. CSOs facilitate the change initiatives required to execute the strategy.

Example: 

One health care company rebounding from bankruptcy in 2005 formulated a strategy focused on growth. A newly appointed CSO recognized that growth would hinge on rebuilding the company’s sales pipeline, offering additional product lines, and repositioning its brand. Therefore, he worked with the heads of Sales, Marketing, M&A, and Strategy Development to address stalled growth, identify attractive new markets, and formulate aggressive acquisition strategies. By the end of 2006, the firm had achieved dramatic growth and acquired several critical new businesses.