Many business strategies fail not because the strategy is bad but because of poor execution by leaders. For your Chamber’s inaugural Leadership Series, our guest speaker was Robin Speculand, a recognised pioneer and expert in strategy implementation and Founder and CEO of Bridges Business Consultancy Int.

Robin drew insights from a case study of DBS Bank’s successful transformation to highlight what it takes to achieve excellence in execution. Here are 3 practical tips that he shared:

1. 90 Day Chunks

Actionable tasks should not take more than 90 days to complete. If a task cannot be completed within this timeframe, it is likely to be too complicated and should be broken down into smaller tasks. By keeping to this timeframe, leaders make the strategy realistic, encourages quick wins and success stories that are visible to all and creates a momentum that can help fulfil the long-term strategy.

2. Making Choice Your Collaborator

Allowing team members a choice of actions within a specified perimeter improves the results significantly as they are more committed to the task.

3. Less is More

When there are to many objectives on the agenda, the people executing the strategy get overwhelmed and end up doing less. Robin recommends no more than 3 to 5 strategies within a 12-month period. This helps the organisation stay focused. It also allows for better resource allocation and for leaders to monitor progress and hold people accountable.

Many thanks to Robin for a highly engaging and informative presentation. The next Leadership Series event takes place on 6 June and our guest speaker will be Alicia Yi, Managing Director, Asia Pacific Consumer Market of Korn/Ferry International.