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Cascading Strategy

Cascading strategy is the process of disseminating an organization's overarching strategy throughout all levels to ensure execution and alignment. The strategy is broken down into objectives at each level which are then further broken down until actionable goals reach all employees. This allows everyone to understand how their roles fit into and support the overall strategic goals. The cascading process involves discovery, alignment, and execution phases to develop the framework and ensure the strategy reaches all levels of the organization. When cascading strategy, leaders must distinguish between direct and indirect alignment of goals and define the decision-making process.

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230 views12 pages

Cascading Strategy

Cascading strategy is the process of disseminating an organization's overarching strategy throughout all levels to ensure execution and alignment. The strategy is broken down into objectives at each level which are then further broken down until actionable goals reach all employees. This allows everyone to understand how their roles fit into and support the overall strategic goals. The cascading process involves discovery, alignment, and execution phases to develop the framework and ensure the strategy reaches all levels of the organization. When cascading strategy, leaders must distinguish between direct and indirect alignment of goals and define the decision-making process.

Uploaded by

Dapoer OmaOpa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cascading Strategy

What is Cascading Strategy?


Cascading strategy is the process in which you disseminate your
organization’s overarching strategy throughout the organization
and create supporting strategies throughout the entire value chain
of activities in the enterprise to ensure that execution occurs. 
If you are setting a business unit strategy, this is a process in which
you disseminate the strategy to those who will operationalize the
strategy. You should also have strategy cascading up to enable
senior leaders within an organization to help them craft and
capitalize on strategic opportunities or mitigate threats and manage
risks.
The cascading process is meant to align every action within the
organization with the strategic direction of the organization as a
whole. Employing a cascading strategy throughout your
organization will align executive goals with the actions of frontline
leaders. Besides influencing everyday job duties, it can require
modifications in a variety of areas including: 
•Purpose and mission
•Core competencies and capabilities
•Asset allocation
•Resource allocation
•Organizational structures and systems
•Values and beliefs
•Talent acquisition and development
If your organization only has a few levels, it may be relatively
simple to cascade your strategic objectives to frontline people.
However, large organizations may need to invest more time and
energy to align all teams and functions. To put it simply, a
cascading strategy gets everyone on the same page and working
toward the same ultimate goals.
Cascading Objectives
After executives have chosen a strategic direction for
the organization, they pick several objectives that
will express that strategy, along with metrics and key
performance indicators to measure progress. 
The process of cascading your objectives enables you
to break large goals into sub-objectives and distribute
them to leaders and teams at the next level. They, in
turn, break objectives into plans and tactics until the
smallest, most actionable goals penetrate the entire
organization. In short, everyone needs to know how
they fit and why they matter.
Strategic leaders communicate the cascading strategy
to employees and make sure their team members at
all levels understand the organizational strategy and
objectives they’re contributing to. Managers should
be encouraged to set performance metrics, implement
accountability systems, and coach to achieve
strategic results.
Cascading Goals

Employees’ individual goals should directly support


the organization’s strategic priorities. Employees
who have a line of sight and know the organization’s
strategic intentions are in a great position to
contribute to the continuous transformation of the
business. Engaging people in the execution of the
enterprise strategy is a great way for employees to
take greater ownership and pride in their work and
company.
You can send out a simple strategic narrative and
hold briefing sessions, then employees can craft their
own goals to support the organization’s strategic
plan. They’ll use their understanding of what is
relevant for their roles, as well as receive feedback
and guidance from their managers.
Cascading Strategy Deployment

The deployment of a cascading process consists of


three phases:
1. Discovery Phase:
The discovery phase involves gathering data to
understand the organization’s current situation and
priorities as well as its strengths, limitations and
vulnerabilities. In this phase, you will discover the
importance of cascading goals in your organization.
2. Alignment Phase:
Phase two is the actual alignment meeting where
members of the leadership team discuss insights from
the discovery phase and pinpoint and prioritize strategic
opportunities for improvement. In this phase, the
strategy cascade framework is developed. 
3. Execution Phase:
The third phase focuses on strategy execution, how it is
sustained, how adjustments are made, and how progress
is reviewed and evaluated. In this phase, you will want
to focus on cascading your strategy to employees and
ensuring your strategy has made it to everyone in the
organization.  
Three Tips To Deploying a Cascading
Strategy Throughout an Organization

As you are cascading your strategy, you’ll need to


make three important decisions to improve the
process: 

1. Distinguish Between Direct Alignment and


Indirect Alignment
Direct alignment is expressed by objectives that every
team and individual will work toward in
approximately the same way. For example, if you
were to choose a revenue goal, each business unit
would be responsible for a portion of that goal.
Indirect alignment is seen in objectives that different
business units may contribute to in very unique ways.
If you wanted to reduce corporate waste, for example,
each group would formulate a customized plan of
action to contribute in their own unique way, based
on the resources and expertise within their control.
2. Define How Cascading Strategy Decisions
Are Made
Define the body of senior leaders who will make
decisions about strategy and how the deployment and
cascading strategy process will unfold, and
communicate it to your team. You’ll want senior
executives to make decisions based on the strategy
cascade framework and prioritize the future direction
for the enterprise, then encourage frontline leaders
and their teams to create their own unique plans.

3. Address Outlying Goals


Set up a policy to address goals that don’t seem to
align with the enterprise strategy. The policy should
allow unusual goals for groups that need them, such
as a Mergers and Acquisitions department. But keep
in mind that you can’t be all things to all people.
Strategy is about choices and staying focused.
Sometimes leaders have to say “no” to good ideas
that simply don’t fit at this point in time. 

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