How does strategy happen? With a lot of Communication

Last week’s Analytic Mindset module of the EMBA program looked at answering the question “How does strategy happen in organizations”.  One way to find out is to go right to the source, which is what we did. Three CEOs visited the class to talk about their approach to strategy: Mario Plourde, CEO of Cascades; Sylvain Toutant, CEO of DAVIDsTEA; and Pierre Marcouiller, CEO of Camoplast Solideal inc.  The three companies are in very different strategic and growth situations, yet there was a common thread to their messages: strategy can’t happen without communication.

At Cascades, which has promoted the independence of its subsidiaries, Mr. Plourde emphasized the need for consultation in developing strategies; the importance of convincing people that they’re heading in the right direction.

Sylvain Toutant spoke about his first months on the job, where most of what he did was visit the retail outlets, meet people, and take in information, in so doing ensuring that the communication was not just top down, but also directly from the field – from the people on the front lines tasked with implementing the strategy.

For his part, Pierre Marcouiller described his company’s growth strategy through acquisition and then listed the three most importance things for the CEO to worry about: Coherence, coherence, and coherence. Making sure everyone understands, and making sure what everyone does is coherent with the strategy.

It came through loud and clear from all three CEOs that it’s great to develop a strategy, but if the people that need to execute aren’t on board or don’t understand, then you’ll never get it implemented.  As Professor Louis Hébert, Module Director and EMBA Program Director pointed out: “A company’s strategy unfolds daily, based on the actions of employees.”