1. Operationalizing Strategy:
How to link our everyday work to organizational
strategy
January 24, 2013
Jenine Serviolo
Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) Senior Fellow,
PMP, SDI® Facilitator
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 1

2. Introduction
 ELP Senior Fellow/New England  Other
Regional Network 2012 • SDI® Facilitator
 Harvard Extension School • Master’s Certificate in PM,
• Masters in Sustainability
GWU
Management student • Performance Measure
 Project Management Institute Blueprint with Stacey Barr
(PMI) Involvement • Balanced Scorecard Strategic
• PMP
(BSC) Execution with Kaplan
and Norton
• Portfolio Management for the PM
• Managing Strategic Performance • LEED Green Associate (in
progress)
• Standard for PfM 3rd Edition
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 2

3. SMART Management Consulting
 President & CEO
 Federal Government Clients
 Consulting, Training, and
Workshops
• Strategic Planning, Execution,
and Management
o Strategic Planning using
Balanced Scorecard (BSC)
• Sustainable Leadership
• Business and Professional
Communication
o Mentoring and Coaching
o Effective Collaboration
Member of US Green Building Council
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 3

4. Outline
 Strategy Discussion  Questions
 Relationship to Strategy  Contact Information
• Organizational role  References
• Commitment  Backup Slides
 The Strategic Chain • Definitions of Portfolios,
• Cause and Effect Programs, Projects
• Linking Up • Strategy & Results
Mapping
• Outreach Plan
o Communication Matrix
• Other Tips for
Embedding Strategy
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 4

5. Strategy Discussion
Organizational Strategy
Strategy is an integrated set of choices that include a
series of cause and effect relationships and position an
organization within its market to achieve targets in a
specified time horizon.
• Integrated set of choices- reflects systems thinking based decisions
that support each other
• Cause and Effect - links actions to outcomes in a successive fashion -
often called What-If or Means-End thinking
• Position - place in the competitive environment
• Target- quantitative or qualitative measures
• Time horizon- deadline by which the targets are to be achieved
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 5

6. Strategy Discussion
Strategy
 Strategy is about being intentional in your thoughts,
words, and actions to achieve change or maintain
performance/reputation. It is about systematically
addressing
• Where are we now?
• Where do we want to go?
• What is the best way to get there?
 Strategy stretches the organization
• Far enough for productive tension
• Not so far to cause it to snap
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 6

7. Strategy Discussion
Organizational Strategy Elements
 MISSION: explains why an organization exists
• Communicates the organization’s enduring nature, its grand purpose - to people
both inside and outside the organization
 CORE VALUES: a set of guiding principles
• Reflects the organization’s collective attitudes, behaviors, decisions and actions
 VALUE PROPOSITION: underscores the organization’s unique blend of
products, services, relationships, and image.
• Differentiates the organization from competitors
 VISION: describes a more ideal future place
• Captures where we will be once we achieve our current strategy. It answers the
question, where are we going? Why are we changing? Sometimes captured in
a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) or strategic themes
 GOALS, OBJECTIVES, MEASURES, AND TARGETS: typically the first
major step to operationalizing strategy
• Goals & objectives are made up of initiatives, programs, projects, and activities
• They should be SMART…
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 7

8. Strategy Discussion
SMART Strategy
SPECIFIC Stated in a way that is clear to the reader
MEASURABLE Expressed in quantifiable way and includes a target
ACHIEVABLE Doable within known constraints
RELEVANT Will directly support achievement of overall strategy
TIME-BOUND Provides a due date
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 8

9. Strategy Discussion
SMART BHAG
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 9

10. Strategy Discussion
SMART Goal
Steven VanRoekel
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 10

11. Strategy Discussion
Our discussion assumes that your
organization has a formal or informal
strategy to which you can align
If it doesn’t, your first step may be to ask
some questions…
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 11

12. Relationship to Strategy
Role-based Relationship to Strategy
Organizational Strategy
Role Contribution
Executive Define strategy. Give direction to Meet mission and
Leadership achieve the mission and vision achieve vision
Portfolio Ensures we do the best Meet objectives
Management combination of work to meet the
mission and achieve the vision
Program Ensures we do the work most Deliver benefits
Management efficiently to deliver benefits in a
coordinated fashion
Project Ensures we do the work right - on Meet milestones
Management & schedule, within budget and scope and service level
Operations (including quality) agreements
 Consistently Manifest Core Values 
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 12

13. Relationship to Strategy
Individual Strategy Commitment
Conscious Cognizant Concur Champion
of of with for
Knows it’s Can Can Can articulate
there but articulate the articulate the strategy,
can’t strategy but the plays an active
articulate it doesn’t strategy role and
and doesn’t knowingly and plays consistently
knowingly play an active role seeks out
play an active active role as directed opportunities to
role further strategy
Contrary
to
Also may be Is at least conscious or
important to cognizant of strategy
note… but is opposed to it…
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 13

14. Relationship to Strategy
Assessing Strategy Commitment
 How committed are you to organizational
strategy (O)?
 How committed should you be (X)?
Commitment Level
Champion
Concur X
Cognizant
Conscious O
Contrary
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 14

15. Relationship to Strategy
Building Strategy Commitment
Discuss commitment to strategy with peers, mentor,
supervisor and/or strategy officer
• Consider who else you directly influence
o Peers
o Managers
o Subordinates
o Customers
o Partners
o External agencies
• What do you need to get to target level?
o Training
o Awareness sessions
What do you need to Start, Stop, or Continue doing to live
up to your strategy commitment?
o Attitudes
o Behaviors
o Actions SMART Management Consulting, LLC 15

16. The Strategic Chain
Strategic Cause and Effect
Direct correlation between completing a work effort
and ultimately gaining an organizational benefit or
meeting an objective
• Cause
o Work and Effort
 Initiatives
 Operational Activities, Projects, Programs, Portfolios
• Effect
o Results (outputs and outcomes)
o Benefits, Objectives, Mission, Vision
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 16

17. The Strategic Chain
Strategy Mapping
Vision
A strategy map assigns strategic
Process Financial Customer
objectives to each BSC Objective
perspective and defines
relationships between them Objective
• Organizational strategy map
shows complete set of key Objective
objectives needed to achieve the
vision
Objective
• Defines cause and effect
Internal
relationships between objectives
Objective
& Growth
Learning
Objective
Placement of Customer & Financial perspectives reflect
Government and non-profit organizations
17

18. The Strategic Chain
Operationalizing Objectives
Vision
Financial Customer
Objective
Objective
Objective Measures Targets
Objective
Statement of
Initiatives
How success The desired
what must be will be performance
achieved Programs,
Objective determined level or
projects,
improvement
Process
Internal
operations,
required to
Objective achieve target
& Growth
Learning
Objective
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 18

19. The Strategic Chain
Strategy Gantt Chart
Strategy
Gantt
Chart
shows
work that
supports
specific
objectives
Excerpt from PMI’s Project Management Journal, December 2010: Measuring Portfolio Strategic Performance Using Key
Performance Indicators by Hynuk Sanchez and Benoît Robert
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 19

20. The Strategic Chain
Linking Up to Strategy
 What do you need to Start, Stop, or Continue to help
achieve strategy?
• Consider all strategy elements
• Walk through each objective, measure, and target to determine
your contribution
• Record findings, assumptions, ideas for each
• Review with supervisor and/or strategy officer
• Publish and track
Some of the most important strategy
conversations will be around how to
handle competing objectives
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 20

21. The Strategic Chain
Linking with a Strategy Map
Organizational strategy map – shows full set of objectives
Individual’s strategy map shows
subset of objectives supported by
one person’s work
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 21

22. The Strategic Chain
Linking with Work Plans
Strategy Gantt Chart – shows full set of objectives with supporting Projects
Work Plan shows subset of
objectives supported by
unit/department and one
person’s work
Slide used with permission of Mieko Ozeki from Project Management Strategies for the
Environmental Leader: Organizational Toolkit for Long-Term Sanity
http://ELPnet.org/webinar-archive
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 22

23. Supporting Pieces
Ongoing Tracking
Once linkage is made, communicate,
communicate, communicate
• Status Reports
• Performance Reports
• Quarterly/Annual Strategy Reports
• Question and Answer Sessions
• Celebrations
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 23

24. Take Action
 Identify your organizational strategy
 Determine your current and target level of commitment
to strategy
• Identify how to achieve your target level of commitment
 Link your work to the organizational strategy
• Identify cause and effect
• Document and communicate the relationship
 Track and communicate your progress
Effectively communicating our part in
achieving strategy gives meaning to the work
we do every day and connects our work to
the larger mission
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 24

25. Questions
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 25

26. Contact Information
Jenine Serviolo, PMP | SDI Facilitator | ELP SENIOR FELLOW
PRESIDENT & CEO SMART MANAGEMENT CONSULTING Get-SMART.com
757.615.6865 | 1231 Boissevain Ave, Norfolk, VA 23507 | Jenine@Get-SMART.com
TRAINING AND CONSULTING IN
o Strategic Planning, Execution, and Management
o Sustainable Leadership
o Business and Professional Communication
APPLICATIONS FOR 2013 PROGRAMS ARE NOW OPEN
ELP is one of the only leadership organizations bringing together
environmental and social change leaders from academia, business,
government and the non-profit sector.
• Take your career to the next level
elpnet.org
• Find balance in work and in life
info@elpnet.org • Expand your network to include some of the most innovative
people in the country
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 26

27. References
 Strategic Planning with Balanced Scorecard
• Kaplan and Norton
• Palladium Group
• Balanced Scorecard Institute
 Performance Measurement
• www.StaceyBarr.com
o Performance Measurement Specialist
o Performance Measurement Blueprint
o Key Performance Indictor Library
 Project, Program, Portfolio Management
• www.PMI.org
 Leadership
• How leaders kill meaning at work
https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Governance/Leadership/How_leaders_kill_meaning_a
t_work_2910
• From Good to Great by Jim Collins
o www.jimcollins.com
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 27

28. References
 Mieko Ozeki Project Management Strategies for the
Environmental Leader: Organizational Toolkit for Long-Term
Sanity http://ELPnet.org/webinar-archive
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 28

29. Backup
Slide Project Portfolios
 A portfolio is a collection of projects or programs and other work grouped together
to facilitate effective management to meet strategic business objectives.
(PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition)
 The components of a portfolio are quantifiable; that is, they can be measured,
ranked, and prioritized. A portfolio is a true measure of an organization’s
intent, direction, and progress
 Portfolio management (PfM) is the coordinated management of portfolio
components to achieve specific organizational objectives. (PMI® Standard for
Portfolio Management – Second Edition)
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 29

30. Backup
Slide Programs and Projects
 A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain
benefits and control not available from managing them individually
 Program management (PgM) is the centralized coordinated management of a
program to achieve the program’s strategic objectives and benefits. It involves
aligning multiple projects to achieve the program goals and allows for
optimized or integrated cost, schedule, and effort (PMI® Standard for Program
Management – Second Edition)
 A project is temporary endeavor
undertaken to create a unique
product, service or result
 Project Management (PM) is the
application of knowledge, skills, tools
and techniques to project activities to
meet the project requirements
(PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition)
JS, (45)
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 30

31. Backup
Slide Strategy Mapping
Mission/Vision
 Part of BSC methodology (Kaplan and
Process Financial Customer
Norton) Objective
 BSC balances the Financial Objective
perspective with
• Customer Objective
• Internal processes
• Learning and growth Objective
Internal
 Requires us to develop objectives,
Objective
measures, and targets
& Growth
Learning
Objective
The balanced scorecard framework is recognized by the General Accountability Office (GAO) and used
by the Department of Defense and other government agencies
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 31

32. Backup
Slide Results Mapping
Success
 Stacey Barr Corporate
• Performance Measure Capability
Process
Blueprint
Activity
• Define the results that
spell success and
depict them showing
cause and effect
relationships Results Mapping
www.StaceyBarr.com
Results Mapping: another way to
depict strategy relationships
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 32

33. Backup
Slide Results Mapping
 Focuses on the
results of each area
 Lines indicate key
relationships
• Companion
• Cause and effect
• Lead-Lag Results Mapping
www.StaceyBarr.com
• Conflict
Results Mapping: another way to
depict strategy relationships
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 33

34. Backup
Slide Outreach Plan
Discuss Current and Target Commitment Levels
• Use discussion to determine Outreach &
Communication activities
The Outreach and Communications Plan
• Includes outline of stakeholders and
activities/communications that will be done to
communicate strategy
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 34

35. Backup
Slide Using the Communication Matrix…
Identify what information needs to be provided to key stakeholders by to
make strategic planning successful . Use this information to complete the
Communications Plan.
Communication Matrix: Strategic Plan Planning Phase
Audience Response Message Methods Sender
Needed Content
1. Identify the target audiences (by role or name) that are important for
successful strategy achievement
2. Identify the response needed from each target audience
3. Choose message content appropriate for the target audience and the
response needed
4. Define best methods to deliver the message content for the target
audience and response needed
5. Identify who should send the message 35

36. Backup
Slide Embed Strategy
• Work Plans • Project/Work
• Training Plans Selection Processes
• Federal Capital Planning &
• Professional Goals Investment Control (CPIC)
• Performance Process
Objectives • Status Reports
• Meeting Agendas
• Correspondence
• Headers
• Email signatures
SMART Management Consulting, LLC 36