The Strategy Gap: Leveraging Technology To Execute Winning Strategies

Citation

(2004), "The Strategy Gap: Leveraging Technology To Execute Winning Strategies", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 53 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2004.07953bae.004

The Strategy Gap: Leveraging Technology To Execute Winning Strategies

The Strategy Gap: Leveraging Technology To Execute Winning Strategies

Michael Coveney et al.John Wiley and SonsISBN: 0 471 21450 7£29.95

Shortened business cycles, increased competition, and rapidly changing technologies mean that companies need to be more agile than ever. Part of this agility is the narrowing of the gap between formulating a strategy executing the resulting actions. This book provides a framework that senior financial managers can use to ensure that their strategies are implemented successfully and that their corporations remain competitive.

Michael Coveney, Dennis Ganster, Brian Hartlen and Dave King (all from corporate performance management – CPM – company Comshare) aim to explain why there is a gap between a company’s stated strategy, and its ability to implement it.

The authors include a range of case studies and suggested best practices for optimum financial processes; and they pay particular attention to the deployment of information technology in support of corporate strategies – well, they would, wouldn’t they, being from Comshare. However, they do point out that “gaps” arising from poorly-deployed technology are often, in reality, management or process gaps.

They offer checklists and best practice templates to help companies decide which technology provider is right for their own particular needs (rather than simply suggesting that Comshare is the only logical solution provider).

They also show managers how to eliminate “surprises” arising from poorly managed or unforeseen activities, while applying new approaches to financial management for faster and more accurate business modelling.

Their explanation of the role of strategy in the new economy is concise, interesting and useful. However, they soon move on to devote a greater part of the book to addressing the issues, rather than just describing them.

Overall, they present a good case for “the gap” itself and then offer useful advice on how to integrate planning, budgeting, consolidation, and reporting into one cohesive management system.