What we’ve been doing isn’t in line with the company’s strategy—and we need to fix that.” Someone in your organization has the mandate to walk into any office, speak those words, and spark some sort of transformation. Maybe it’s the CEO and the CEO only. That’s the traditional model, after all—vision, planning, and directives flow from the very top, and people at all levels of the organization act. But it may be that a different C-level executive bears the burden of strategy execution in your company—a senior leader like Chief Strategy Officer, whose focus  is on implementing investment decisions and acquiring companies selected by the management team, formalizing the company’s strategic-planning processes, forging new working relationships and synergies across the organization, and establishing greater transparency and accountability for those people carrying out the company’s strategy. 

 

Companies are adding CSOs to their management teams (or at least considering doing so) for several reasons. Start with changes to the business landscape—complex organizational structures, rapid globalization, new regulations, the struggle to innovate—that make it ever more difficult for CEOs to be on top of everything, even an area as important as strategy execution. Then consider the nature of strategy itself. By nearly all accounts, strategy development has become a continuous, not periodic, process. Successful execution, therefore, depends more than ever on rapid and effective decision making. Our CSO practice consultants either come from top strategy firms, or carry 10+ years of corporate development/strategy experience from industry. Their in-depth industry know-how and strong subject matter expertise are the solid foundation to ensure successful placements for clients.