"Tactical Implementation: The Devil is in the Details"

Thomas Porter and Stephen Harper

Business Horizons

January-February 2003, pp. 53-60

The authors state that "Tactical implementation—the nuts and bolts and rolled-up shirtsleeves of a firm's operations—requires front-line managers to organize, plan, monitor, and in many cases perform the tasks necessary to translate strategic goals into marketing actions."

The article focuses on five key principles of tactical implementation:

1. What seems simple can be deceptively complex—"More novel implementations require key participants to develop new skills or change their established patterns of behavior." And "The number and diversity of participating functions must also be factored into the implementation equation;"
2. Buy-in is not automatic—"By their nature, decisions, plans, and strategies involve change. And few people welcome change, especially when others initiate it." Senior management buy-in is essential, the system should support the change, and program metrics should be aligned;
3. Surprises must be anticipated and avoided—"Those organizing for implementation should be able to reduce the frequency and severity of surprises by using more experienced managers, engaging in a more fine-grained level of planning, identifying project risks, and developing contingency plans;"
4. Time pressure is the enemy of effective implementation—"If a company lacks the time to get it right the first time, it surely won't have enough time to fix it and get it right later;" and
5. There will be problems to respond to—"The unpredictability of what lies ahead means that as people implement plans they will have to (a) size up the uniqueness of the situation, (b) scan the surroundings for clues that modifications need to be made during implementation, (c) determine what to do, and (d) make adjustments when it becomes apparent that the original plan will not succeed."

Back to top of page