CENTRAL QUESTION

ANSWER

PEOPLE NEED TO BE AWARE OF YOUR STRATEGY

› Facilitate SMALL choices. Provide prioritization guidelines to align day-to-

day choices with the big choice (Lisa’s Dilemma, Michael Porter’s No, Railway)

› Keep the Big Choice Clearly Visible. Keep the original big choice clearly vis-

ible (The Tripping Point, A Horse is Not a Zebra)

› Draw a Finish Line. Capture the core of your strategy and show everyone in an

inspiring way what strategy success looks like (200 Doors, Man on the Moon)

› Re-measure. Provide a compact measurement set and remove useless sign-

posts (Yasso 800, Billy Beane, Players Versus Coach)

PEOPLE NEED TO CARE ABOUT YOUR STRATEGY

› Share Strategy Stories. Add context and emotion to the strategy to make peo-

ple feel the big choice (The Kidney Heist, The Zambia Story, Jared’s Diet)

› Climb the Micro-commitment Ladder. Don’t settle for small commitments

on big things. Go after big commitments on small things (5 x Yes, Hospitals

and Cockpits)

› Go Beyond Self-interest. Celebrate small victories on the road, making people

believe in a big victory at the finish line (Bannister, Pygmalion and Golem)

PEOPLE NEED ENERGY TO DRIVE YOUR STRATEGY

› Tackle CO2mplexity. Embrace simplicity and create a productive working en-

vironment (The Last Zen Master, Tata’s Dream, The Simplicity Tightrope)

› Experience the Power of Habits. Automate small decisions to save energy

(Nun and CEO, Strategy Eats Culture)

› Find Your 7-day Rhythm. Connect decision horizons: find a spot for strat-

egy in everyone’s weekly agenda (South Pole Expedition, Hip Surgery, Strategy

Anchors).

From The Execution Shortcut by Jeroen De Flander.

Why do some strategies take the hidden path to success and

others never reach the finish line?

Human dynamics—the execution villains—are the reason

why most strategies take the long route to the finish line. If we

aspire to get a better return from our strategy, then we must

learn how these human behaviors impact the idea journey

and how to deal with them. In short, we need a H3-connection.

HEAD

HEART

HANDS

How to Take an Execution Shortcut