Turning intentions into outcomes: a quick scorecard to guide implementation

Purpose – Companies often fail to take effective action even when they know what to do. Surprisingly, recent research shows that this situation is common. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to ask the question “How can we improve the track record of companies in achieving the outcomes targeted by manufacturing strategy?” Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on case study examples of successful change implementations from the Manufacturing Roundtable which identified implementation as a critical area of research concern. Findings – The paper identifies eight principles of implementation success and summarises how organisations which successfully implement change comply with these principles. Practical implications – Strategy execution is becoming much more of a concern than formulation. These examples from manufacturing provide guidance for improving implementation of performance improvements across organisational operations. Originality/value – The paper provides a scorecard against which to assess your own implementation processes and summarises the practices of more successful implementers.