While rewiring the DNA of large and increasingly complex organisations is no easy feat, corporate stakeholders, at a panel discussion hosted last month by Johannesburg-based consulting firm MAC Consulting, agreed that any type of organisational change needed constant reinforcement from the top, which made strategy implementation the key responsibility of any company’s CEO.

Recognising that more than half of the strategic plans implemented by corporate organisations fail to deliver, MAC Consulting invited telecommunications giant MTN group chief strategy officer (CSO) Karel Pienaar and oil and petrochemicals major Sasol group strategy and regulatory affairs GM Norbert Behrens to share their insights on the matter.

About 30 executives representing companies across several industrial sectors weighed in on the debate, which focused on the need for companies to successfully execute strategies by constantly evolving and adapting to the ever- changing business landscape.

In terms of implementing the initiatives that keep a business relevant, Pienaar and Behrens agreed that the responsibility rested with a company’s CEO.

Behrens pointed out that most contracts between a company’s board and its CEO stipulated that the CEO was responsible for strategy, which was recognised as the starting point for any organisational and cultural change.

“This is, of course, easier said than done, but by setting that example from a higher level . . . , a company can go a long way, as it creates a trickle-down effect within an organisation,” he said.

Pienaar

maintained that one of the key responsibilities of a group CSO was to identify growth opportunities, as opposed to spending too much time on trying to execute a company’s ‘big ideas’.

“It’s hugely challenging and MTN goes through quite an aggressive process to measure this alignment, though it is something at which we can get much better,” Pienaar says.

He added that, as a CSO, his job entailed identifying future growth opportunities for MTN and how the company would invest in those opportunities.

Pienaar conceded, however, that one of the biggest challenges facing strategy imple- mentation, especially with regard to a company’s adaptability, was convincing all stakeholders, starting at board level, to embrace a new business model.

“MTN is undergoing an extensive cultural change, which is a very intrusive, aggressive process that involves trying to get people to be more open minded. “Yesterday, we were a voice business, whereas today, we are a mobile broadband and Inter- net business – so how do we adapt?” he queried.

Pienaar added that the change management process across all levels in an organisation could make or break strategy execution in a dynamic business environment.

Meanwhile, MAC Consulting key account director Shaun Schmidt, who facilitated the panel discussion, told Engineering News that South African organisations were maturing with regard to strategy implementation.