Report: The Data Behind Successful Strategic Planning and Execution

At Align, we live by good business habits. Long term strategic planning, supported by daily huddles and continuous priority tracking, ensures that we stay focused on what drives our business forward. 

The success of the methodology has been confirmed time and time again by the stories our users share with us. But beyond anecdotes, we wanted to confirm quantitatively how companies that implemented good business habits for strategic execution performed over time. 

A newly released report from Align provides an analysis of 1,900 companies and the 435,000 priorities created using Align’s business management software over a 4 year period. The data provides an unprecedented look into the best practices of high performing companies.

Our findings confirm the effectiveness of a continuous cycle of strategic goal setting and execution. They back up the conviction that effective communication rhythms keep teams focused on execution. But they also present many surprising insights. 

Among the report’s key findings are:

• Companies on Align typically see a 3.5x increase in number of priorities completed from month 1 to month 15. The number of priorities taken on compounds over time as companies hone their execution skills
• Teams that participate in daily or weekly huddles not only improve communication but also see a 5% increase in eNPs (employee net promoter score, a metric used to measure engagement). 
• Organizations that use Align to manage daily and weekly huddles complete 60% more priorities than those that don’t.
• Companies with an eNPS score of 50 or greater complete 45% more priorities each period than those with low employee satisfaction.

Overall, the report provides some of the best evidence to date on how companies should address the challenges of implementing a strategic plan. Given only 2% of leaders believe their organization will achieve 80-100% of strategic objectives, this data provides uniquely valuable insights for any organization. 

Making a strategic plan is only the first step of the journey. As our data confirms, executing on your priorities requires a system of good business habits. 

These good habits keep the team aligned and employees engaged. And, as our findings also show, highly engaged teams outperform expectations! 

 To learn more, download the whitepaper here.