Creating a vision for your company is an important first step for every organization. But it can't be the only step if you want to achieve success.

Your next job is to create an overall business strategy that supports your vision. Strategy is what a company does to strengthen and grow it's business value into the future.

Once developed, your strategy must be executed at every level of the organization and become an integral part of day-to-day business. To accomplish this, everyone in the organization must be aligned with the strategy. This is not easy, and it happens rarely - Fortune estimates that less than 10% of all business strategies are effectively executed.

But the organizations that invest in successful implementation of their strategy are more likely to see their visions become reality. So how does it happen? What are the critical success factors? Three characteristics of strategic-focused organizations are:

1. They are customer-driven.
All strategies are inspired by customer behavior, trends, and feedback.
• Are you clear on who your customers are and why they use your products and services?
• Do your current processes make it easy for customers to do business with you?
• Do you have mechanisms in place to gather data and customer feedback on an ongoing basis?
2. Leadership is committed to the strategy and focuses on it consistently.
Experts say that 85% of management teams spend less than one hour per month on strategic issues. You need a much bigger commitment to succeed.
• Does your leadership team take ownership and create a culture that promotes the execution of corporate strategies?
• Does senior management spend a consistent, dedicated amount of time on strategic thinking and long-term planning, or are they trapped in the day-to-day business?
• Have you established priorities and staying focused on them?
• Do you have processes in place to adapt to change as required?
3. Middle management enables the strategy to be executed on a day-to-day basis.
• Does middle management contribute to the purpose and future direction of the company on a day-to-day basis?
• Do they communicate the company's strategy consistently to all employees?
• Are employees recognized and rewarded for showing a commitment to the company's strategy within the framework of their individual jobs?

When companies create a strategy that aligns with its vision and is executed at every level of the organization, the stage is set for success. The next critical step is to align the strategy with the company's individual jobs, business processes and technology.

Did you know that 60% of organizations never link their strategies to their budgets? From budgeting to training to customer relations to the creation of metrics for measuring progress, your strategy must serve as the cornerstone. This makes it easier for management teams to drive the organization in the desired direction. Without good organizational alignment with the strategy, every bit of forward motion will be a struggle.

Here are seven steps to get your organization on its way to successful strategic execution.

1. Communicate your overall strategy to all employees at every opportunity - in meetings, in print, and other forums. Studies show that up to 90% of employees don't understand their company's business strategy and how it relates to their daily activities. So take the time to get everyone on board with the company's purpose and direction.

2. Using the overall strategy as a base, create core strategies - key business initiatives that support the overall strategy. Make sure these core strategies are specific, dated and measurable.

3. Create a culture that supports the core strategies. Reward those who align their work with the strategies and make sure all leaders in the organization are united and focused on the same business strategies and objectives.

4. Structure all business processes and policies around the strategies. If a proposed process fails the litmus test of being aligned with your strategies, forget it.

5. Structure all individual jobs around the strategies. Each person should clearly understand their unique role in executing your business strategies.

6. Make sure everyone has the tools, technology and support they need to execute the strategy.

7. Create ways to track, measure and report on results so you can make necessary changes and build flexibility and responsiveness into your efforts.

"People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine." ~ Brian Tracy

A Critical Question for Your Business Planning Cycle: Are You Aligning Company Projects with Your Strategy?