A lot of CEOs are confident in their strategy. Fewer are as confident in their ability to carry that strategy out. Did you know that in 2016 it was estimated that 67% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution?

In many organizations, there’s a separation between church and state; between strategy and execution. The CEO thinks, “I’ve got the strategy, but what do I do now?”

If you pass it off to the leadership team to implement and execute, they might not have the necessary enthusiasm to follow-through. They may not understand the CEO’s vision, so how do they make it tangible? And even if they understand and feel enthusiastic, how does the leadership team work on strategy while keeping an eye on the core business; growing, managing, and keeping the business profitable in a rapidly evolving environment. They’re keeping up with technology, resources, and managing teams and individuals. Do they have the time and energy to advocate and oversee strategy amid all their other priorities?

Even if your strategy is perfect, the fact that you can’t do it alone will prevent your company from succeeding – unless you can find the glue between strategy and execution, and bring the entire company together behind the execution of that vision. And here’s the secret: the glue between strategy and execution is pure accountability.

In order to attain that level of accountability, you need to dedicate company time and resources toward strategic execution. In my company, Restaurants on the Run, we did it by creating a monthly meeting – just a half-day a month, dedicated to reinforcing the strategic vision, keeping up with execution, and emphasizing accountability.

Create clear, attainable goals, and measure progress toward them on the individual, team, and organization level. That way, everyone in the company can hold themselves accountable, know how their work will be measured, and look for ways to execute the strategic vision at every level. That’s how consistent execution happens.

Is your company’s strategy reaching the front-line? Do they have the enthusiasm and accountability necessary to see it through?