Linking Strategy to Structure

Should strategy drive structure or should structure drive strategy?

Having developed your options, it is important to consider how your organization would implement a selected strategy. part of addressing this is deciding whether the organization is structured in the right way to support the new strategy, or whether, despite all good intentions, the old organizational structure will lead to its failure.

Should strategy drive structure or should structure drive strategy? Strategy is clearly more important than structure, because by implementing a new strategy your team or organization can create the future. It is clear, therefore, that strategy must come first -- an organization must create the right strategy and then adjust its structure to ensure that the chosen strategy has the greatest chance of success.

ACTION POINT: Consider the following questions when evaluating strategy and structure:

• Can you change your company structure to better support your chosen strategy?
• Can you change your company structure in the longer term to open up more strategic options?
• As a last resort, can your strategy be changed or amended to better align it with your company structure?