What's your strategy for measuring the impact of strategic alignment?

1 Define your strategic objectives

The first step to measure the impact of strategic alignment is to define your strategic objectives clearly and communicate them to your stakeholders. Your strategic objectives should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They should also be aligned with your vision, mission, and values, and reflect your core competencies and competitive advantage. You can use tools such as the balanced scorecard, the OKR framework, or the SWOT analysis to help you define and prioritize your strategic objectives.

2 Establish your key performance indicators

The next step is to establish your key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you track and measure your progress towards your strategic objectives. Your KPIs should be relevant, actionable, and realistic, and they should reflect the outcomes and impacts that you want to achieve. You can use tools such as the SMART criteria, the RACI matrix, or the dashboard to help you define and monitor your KPIs.

3 Align your activities and resources

The third step is to align your activities and resources with your strategic objectives and KPIs. This means that you need to ensure that your processes, projects, tasks, and decisions are aligned with your strategy and contribute to your desired outcomes. You also need to allocate your resources, such as time, money, people, and technology, in a way that supports your strategy and optimizes your efficiency and effectiveness. You can use tools such as the strategy map, the value chain analysis, or the resource allocation matrix to help you align your activities and resources.

4 Evaluate your results and feedback

The fourth step is to evaluate your results and feedback regularly and systematically. This means that you need to collect and analyze data and information that show how well you are achieving your strategic objectives and KPIs. You also need to solicit and incorporate feedback from your stakeholders, such as customers, employees, partners, and suppliers, that can help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can use tools such as the performance review, the customer satisfaction survey, or the SWOT analysis to help you evaluate your results and feedback.

5 Adjust and improve your strategy

The final step is to adjust and improve your strategy based on your evaluation and feedback. This means that you need to identify and implement actions and changes that can help you improve your strategic alignment and performance. You also need to communicate and celebrate your achievements and learnings, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. You can use tools such as the PDCA cycle, the root cause analysis, or the action plan to help you adjust and improve your strategy.