MBAX 6990 Strategy Playbook Part 3: Implementing the Strategy and Executive Summary Example

Week 10 Assignment, Capstone: Section 3: The Organizational Strategy, Part 3

For this week’s Assignment, you will continue in the role of a consultant who has been hired by the CEO of your selected company to lead a tiger team tasked with addressing issues the organization is facing. You will build on the work you completed in the previous weeks and will finalize development of your Strategy Playbook for Exceptional Results in order to present it to the CEO. This week, you will continue to compile Section 3 of your playbook, include specific examples and relevant citations, incorporate feedback from your previous work and craft an executive summary that will serve as page 1 of your playbook.

Submit your 4- to 5-page strategy implementation and 1-page executive summary, to include:

Part 3: Implementing the Strategy

• Explain how a strategy framework can provide the foundation for your overall business strategy.
• Explain the purpose of strategy reporting and how it can lead to a competitive business strategy.
• Analyze the effects of the organization’s mission/vision and its practices related to diversity and corporate social responsibility/positive social change on implementation of your proposed strategy.
• Using all the information gathered from your work thus far, explain how you would implement your proposed strategy.
• As part of the implementation, propose a recommended approach to effective change management leadership that would promote the success of strategy implementation.
• Recommend strategies for mitigating any anticipated risks identified in Part 1.

Executive Summary (1 page): clearly identify the purpose of the playbook (Section 1); summarize the results of your evaluation (Section 2); concisely synthesize your recommendations.

Executive Summary

Purpose. This Strategy Playbook for Exceptional Results was prepared for the CEO of Summit Trail Outfitters, a regional outdoor gear retailer with 12 stores, to address declining same-store sales, a weak online presence and high frontline turnover. Its purpose is to give leadership a clear, evidence-based strategy and a practical roadmap to restore growth and strengthen the company’s position against national online competitors.

Evaluation results. Our evaluation found that Summit’s core strengths are expert staff, strong community relationships and customer trust. However, online sales represent only 8% of revenue compared with industry peers that exceed 25%, inventory systems are not integrated across stores and the website, and annual frontline turnover of about 45% limits service quality. External analysis showed rising demand for outdoor experiences and rentals, alongside intense price competition from national e-commerce retailers.

Recommendations. We recommend a customer-intimacy strategy built on three initiatives: (1) an integrated omnichannel platform connecting the website and stores, (2) a new gear rental and guided experience business and (3) a people and culture program to reduce turnover and build digital service skills. Implementation will be managed through a Balanced Scorecard with quarterly strategy reports, led by a cross-functional transformation office, using a structured change leadership approach and a risk mitigation plan. Over three years, the strategy targets 25% revenue growth, an online sales share of 25%, a Net Promoter Score of 60 and turnover below 30%.

Part 3: Implementing the Strategy

A Strategy Framework as the Foundation

A strategy framework gives leaders a tested structure so they can focus on the company’s specific choices rather than reinventing the concept of strategy. Tedder (2018) explains that a strategic framework must rest on the organization’s mission, vision and goals and should define for each initiative a business objective, the approach, the measurement and the target. For Summit, the framework combines several tools used in earlier sections: SWOT and PESTLE analyses informed the diagnosis, the Ansoff Matrix guided the choice of market development (online sales beyond store locations) and product development (rentals and guided trips), and the Value Disciplines model clarified that Summit should compete through customer intimacy rather than lowest price (Wright, 2024). Finally, the Balanced Scorecard translates the strategy into objectives across financial, customer, internal process and learning and growth perspectives. Together, these frameworks create a coherent logic linking where Summit competes, how it wins and how success will be measured, which helps avoid the incomplete strategies that Collis (2021) identifies as a common cause of strategic failure.

The Purpose of Strategy Reporting

Strategy reporting communicates progress toward strategic goals and explains how the numbers connect to the strategy. KPMG International Cooperative (2012) emphasizes that effective reports tell the organization’s value-creation story, link the business model to risks, strategy and key performance indicators, and provide context through targets, trends and benchmarks. For Summit, a quarterly strategy report will present each scorecard measure with its baseline, target and trend; explain variances; and highlight risks and corrective actions. Reporting leads to a more competitive strategy in three ways. First, it creates accountability, because owners must explain results. Second, it supports faster decisions, because leaders can see early which initiatives are working and reallocate resources. Third, it aligns employees and stakeholders, because store teams receive a simplified version showing how their results contribute to company goals. Galunic and Hermreck (2012) found that employees’ understanding of strategy depends heavily on how senior leaders communicate it, so consistent reporting is also a communication tool.

Effects of Mission, Vision, Diversity and Social Responsibility on Implementation

Summit’s mission, “to help people in our region enjoy the outdoors safely through expert gear, advice and experiences,” and its vision to become “the region’s most trusted outdoor brand” strongly support the proposed strategy. The rental and guided experience business directly expands access to the outdoors, and the omnichannel platform extends Summit’s expertise to customers who cannot visit a store. Because employees already identify with the mission, framing the strategy around it should increase commitment.

Diversity and inclusion practices will affect implementation in two ways. Internally, Summit’s workforce and leadership are less diverse than the communities it serves; recruiting and promoting diverse guides and staff, and providing inclusive service training, will strengthen customer intimacy with new customer segments, such as first-time outdoor participants and families from varied cultural backgrounds. Externally, partnerships with community organizations can introduce outdoor recreation to underrepresented groups. Summit’s corporate social responsibility practices, including local trail stewardship and gear donation programs, provide a foundation for positive social change. The strategy will extend them through a rental program with discounted rates for youth and community groups, which supports the business while lowering barriers to outdoor activity. Deloitte’s research shows that culture and values strongly influence whether strategies succeed, and that leaders must align rewards and processes with the desired culture (Kaplan et al., 2016). Summit should therefore align incentives with service, inclusion and stewardship, not only sales.

Implementing the Proposed Strategy

Implementation will follow a phased, three-year roadmap managed by a small transformation office reporting to the CEO. OnStrategy (2021) recommends focusing on a limited number of priorities, assigning clear owners, linking budgets to annual goals and holding regular reviews, so Summit will concentrate on three initiatives.

Initiative owners will report monthly, and the executive team will review the scorecard quarterly. Following Kenny’s (2020) distinction between strategy and execution, each initiative will have clear outcomes rather than just activity lists, and annual planning will revisit whether the initiatives still support the strategy.

Recommended Approach to Change Management Leadership

We recommend combining Lewin’s three-stage model with active change leadership. In the unfreeze stage, the CEO will share data on competitive threats and the vision in town halls and store visits, creating urgency while connecting the change to the mission. In the change stage, store-level “change champions” will help pilot new processes, collect feedback and coach peers, and employees will receive training on the new systems. In the refreeze stage, job descriptions, recognition and incentives will be updated to reinforce new behaviors (Lumen Learning, n.d.). Throughout, leaders should act as change leaders, not only change managers: providing direction, modeling the behaviors they expect and staying adaptable as conditions change (Akpoveta, 2019). Because uncertainty is high, leaders should communicate frequently and transparently, focusing employees on what they can control and acknowledging challenges openly (Zucker & Rowell, 2021).

Mitigating Anticipated Risks

Part 1 identified five major risks. The following strategies address each:

Because some risks cannot be predicted, Summit should also build response capacity through quarterly scenario reviews and clear criteria for adjusting the strategy (Kaplan, Leonard & Mikes, 2020). Chussil (2021) cautions that changing strategy during a crisis should be deliberate rather than reactive, so leaders will use early-warning indicators, such as missed milestones or declining customer scores, to decide when adjustments are needed.

Conclusion

Summit Trail Outfitters has the mission, culture and community trust needed to succeed, but it must modernize how it reaches and serves customers. A clear framework, disciplined reporting, focused implementation, strong change leadership and proactive risk management will turn this playbook into exceptional results.

References

Akpoveta, Y. R. (2019, April 9). Change leadership defined—No longer for a select few! The Change Leadership. https://thechangeleadership.com/change-leadership-defined/

Chussil, M. (2021, February 3). When to switch strategy in a crisis. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–5.

Collis, D. J. (2021). Why do so many strategies fail? Harvard Business Review, 99(4), 82–93.

Galunic, C., & Hermreck, I. (2012). How to help employees “get” strategy. Harvard Business Review, 90(12), 24.

Kaplan, M., Dollar, B., Van Durme, Y., & 王大威. (2016, February 29). Shape culture: Drive strategy. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2016/impact-of-culture-on-business-strategy.html

Kaplan, R. S., Leonard, H. B., & Mikes, A. (2020). The risks you can’t foresee. Harvard Business Review, 98(6), 40–46.

Kenny, G. (2020, January 7). Don’t mistake execution for strategy. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–4.

KPMG International Cooperative. (2012). Integrated reporting: Performance insight through better business reporting. https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2013/03/integrated-reporting-2012.pdf

Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Managing change for organizations. In Boundless management. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/managing-change-for-organizations/

OnStrategy. (2021, April 5). Strategic implementation. https://onstrategyhq.com/resources/strategic-implementation/

Tedder, D. (2018, January 30). The power of the strategic framework. HDI. https://www.thinkhdi.com/library/supportworld/2018/power-strategic-framework.aspx

Wright, T. (2024). Best strategy frameworks for your organization. Cascade. https://www.cascade.app/blog/best-strategy-frameworks

Zucker, R., & Rowell, D. (2021, April 26). 6 strategies for leading through uncertainty. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–6.