A recent survey by Strategy Management Partners of large UK companies reveals that there is a stark difference between their growth aspirations and their ability execute.
Only 18,4% businesses reach more than 80% their growth aspirations within three years. Nearly half of businesses ( 41.2% ) fail to reach 60% or more of the stated goals within this timeframe. This indicates a struggle with consistency.
While growth is still a priority for many UK companies, they are not achieving their goals in terms of execution and innovation. The research highlights important strategic and operational shortcomings that are hindering performance and achieving aspirational targets.
Key Findings
The research revealed that people play a key role in enabling or hindering the execution of strategy. Over half ( 50.4% ) of decision makers identified talent and capabilities gaps as the main barrier to effective delivery. These gaps are a result of a lack of skills, inadequate capacity, a lack of empowerment, and incentives that do not align with strategic priorities.
The study found that, despite widespread ambitions, only 23,6% large UK companies have embraced a truly disruptive and innovative mindset. The majority of companies ( 61.20%) only pursued innovation incrementally or when it was necessary.
Only 46%of companies have a clearly measurable value gap between the current state and desired future –a key metric to align strategy with outcomes. This lack of clarity hinders organisational agility and limits focus.
The study highlighted five key drivers that businesses should follow in order to achieve strategic execution success.
- Vision Driven Strategy A clearly defined vision, and a measurable value gap, informed strategic priorities.
- Balanced strategy and operations– While the strategic direction guided decisions, operational execution was a major focus in delivering results.
- Data Driven Decision Making – Timely and Automated Reporting allowed for tracking performance and making timely course corrections.
- Strong execution readiness– Companies have invested in structured preparations, such as communication, training and dedicated teams.
- Culture Of Accountability– Strategy implementation was integrated into daily operations, and adopted across all levels.
External macroeconomic forces can also limit growth. UK business leaders identified ongoing economic instabilities ( 72.4%), disruptions to the global supply chains ( 75.4%), as well as challenges arising from monetary policies, such inflation, interest rate volatility and exchange rate fluctuation ( 79.2%), among other threats. 79.2% business leaders also believe that the rising cost of doing business – including compliance and tax burdens – continues to limit strategic flexibility.
Muibat Ijaiya said, “Overall, the research provides valuable insight into what UK enterprise leadership is experiencing when it comes to executing growth strategies within a global connected world.” In order to bridge the gap between ambitions and achievements, businesses will need to focus more on execution readiness, data-driven performance tracking, and talent development.
The original version of this post A new study reveals UK businesses struggle to achieve growth goals due to execution challenges and talent shortages appeared first on HR news.
