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Strategic Execution in Marketing (Part 1): How it Works
Strategic execution has long been discussed in the world of business strategy. In the marketing world, the same concept applies. In this series of two articles, we first will explore the deep connection between strategy and execution in marketing.
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Strategic execution has long been discussed in the world of business strategy. In the marketing world, the same concept applies. In this series of two articles, we first will explore the deep connection between strategy and execution in marketing. Then, we will look at some common problems with marketing projects and illuminate how these problems arise because of a failure to appreciate the idea of strategic execution. By correctly understanding the nature of strategic execution, marketing work can be easier and more effective.
The Theory: Strategy and Execution Are Interrelated
Traditional marketing work is linear. Depressingly so. Each stage of a project is supposed to depend on the stage before it. To do a good job on a stage, you’re supposed to have completed the previous stage. This linear dependency is at the very foundation of the businesses of marketing, design, consulting, and technology. Just look at the endless methodology slides and Gantt charts. Straight lines. Orderly progression.
The most general such progression is from strategy to execution. Strategy comes first; it lays the plan. When strategy is complete, execution follows.
In reality, the relationship between strategy and execution is much more complex&emdash;they depend on each other. You can’t do one without the other. What’s more, you can’t understand one without the other.
Execution Needs Strategy
Good execution depends on good strategy. It’s a common idea. Before you do any execution, do the strategy.
Execution alone is formless matter. It’s raw content. Pure execution. As such, it has no goal behind it. Thus, pure execution can be judged only by standards of the execution itself. That means we can assess the design, the copy, or the technology. It’s “good design”. It’s “bad writing”. And, so on. But, without strategy, the execution as a whole cannot be judged appropriately. That is, the execution cannot be assessed as being right or wrong. To be judged in this way, we would have to know why the execution was produced&emdash;its goals and plan. Without knowing this, without knowing the strategy, we can’t make such a determination.
This is true as far as it goes. Good execution presupposes good strategy. But, good strategy will not guarantee good execution. What’s more, to even understand the execution, you need to know the strategy.
Strategy Needs Execution
Strategy is the idea, the goal. Call it a form or a plan. It is empty of content, of matter, of material. It is abstract, strategic. Supposedly, it is possible to perceive and contemplate this abstract strategy without embodying it in execution. This is what strategists do, right? Unfortunately, no. This is the premise where the model falls apart. It is not possible to contemplate a strategy without an execution.
At first this might seem confusing. Doesn’t strategy come first? How can strategy be informed by execution if the execution hasn’t even happened yet?
Strategy needs execution because strategy alone is too abstract. Execution gives “life” to the strategy. And only with this content can we understand the strategy. Not only does execution need strategy, strategy needs execution.
Strategic Execution
Strategy and execution are deeply interrlated. It’s not possible to understand one without the other. As we saw earlier, most people accept that execution needs strategy to be meaningful. And, the converse is also true. Strategy needs execution to be meaningful.
The implication of this is that there are no projects that are only strategy or only execution. To be sure, there may be a pre-existing strategic effort (that always already will have included an execution of some kind). But, this really means that a previous strategic execution will be replaced (or transformed) by a new strategic execution.
Without execution, strategy is empty, just as execution without strategy is blind. Only when strategy and execution are understood together can we conceive of either one.
In Part 2, we will explore the practical impact of this approach. We’ll see how many common problems on projects stem from a failure to appreciate how tightly strategy and execution are related.
