Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 29, 2015

The results of a recent survey of 200 organizations from the six GCC countries have been released. The State of Strategy Execution (SOSE) - GCC Edition, a research conducted during 2014, was rolled-out across government organizations and private companies from multiple sectors. This survey represents the first research of its kind for the Gulf countries, and aims to establish the tools, techniques and challenges that are prominent across the region.

These areas of interest for the GCC have been assessed through the efforts of ShiftIN Partners who have been joined by the renowned strategy execution expert Jeroen De Flander and naseba, the leading  business facilitation platform in the Middle East.

Rafael Lemaitre, a Partner of ShiftIN Partners, commented that "The State of Strategy Execution constitutes an important step to shift the focus of  research from the 'traditional markets', such as USA or Europe, to countries which have been performing considerably well over the last few years in international rankings. This research constitutes the first attempt to understand more about the state of the strategy in the Middle East, specifically in the GCC. These results are important for organizations to really get to the heart of the changes needed to help them succeed in executing their strategy".

Prior to this survey, the commonly held perception was that organisations in the GCC are highly Vision driven. One of the results from the survey corroborates this notion, with more than 80% of the organizations reporting that they have a strong level of strategic clarity. Additionally, 70% believe they have a robust strategic plan in place to guide their organizations. Furthermore, almost all respondents agreed that in order for an organisation to be successful, it needs a clearly defined strategy and execution framework.

While the results show that organizations in the GCC place a lot of emphasis on defining the strategy, it seems that they are less successful in its execution, with 40% of organizations reporting that their strategic plans are not delivering the expected results.

This gap between strategic definition and execution can be attributed to multiple factors. Amongst these, the SOSE survey identifies that a large number of organizations (almost half) are not developing their key staff's skills and capabilities - a major area opportunity for improvement.

Additionally, the survey has found that one of the main barriers for strategy to succeed is the lack of proper resources. 62% of organizations consider that their strategic projects are not staffed with the right people, while 30% of the organizations identified misallocation of budget as an issue for successfully executing the strategy.

The State of Strategy Execution - GCC Edition survey also looked at which management tools were mostly being utilised by these organizations. The results of which were ranked based on their level of implementation, with the top 3 management tools being: "Strategic Plan" (where 70% of organizations reported having one), followed by the "Balanced Scorecard" (45% reported utilizing this), and third are "Personal Scorecards" (42% also reported having this). The least popular management tools include the "Business Model Canvas", and "Six Sigma" methodologies with each having less than 25% implementation in the organizations surveyed.

Additionally, the research also identified the tools that are 'on the radar' of managers looking for excellence in implementation. These included: Risk Management Frameworks (linked to Strategy) and Innovation Frameworks. "The results are well aligned with what we have seen on the ground. The region is becoming quite mature when it comes to strategic planning and execution methodologies, hence the popularity of Strategic Planning and Balanced Scorecard, in addition we have seen the impact of other trends, such as the case of Innovation, where a large percentage of organization are moving from generating ideas to developing innovation as a management process" added Rafael Lemaitre.

Jeroen De Flander, a highly regarded thought leader in Strategy Execution, who has under his belt the largest worldwide survey in the world (the Strategy Execution BarometerTM ) added "as a strategy execution ambassador, I've been visiting the Middle East several times a year since 2009. I've seen fantastic progress and I'm happy that finally the region has a sound benchmarking data. Having the right data will contribute to strengthen the community of strategy execution practitioners in the GCC helping to develop further the discipline"

The summary of the conclusions can be visualized through the following video https://youtu.be/Mjv7LcTRNcU or in the webpage of the survey: www.stateofstrategy.org

The next edition of the State of Strategy Execution in the GCC is expected to be conducted in 2016.

Parties involved:

ShiftIN Partners is a leading strategy management consulting firm focused on helping clients manage strategy and innovation programs that enable the organization to achieve the necessary Shift, working from withIN. ShiftIN Partners has Offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Lisbon. For more information visit: www.shiftinpartners.com

Jeroen De Flander is one of the world's most influential thinkers on strategy execution and a highly regarded keynote speaker. He has shared the stage with prominent strategists like Michael Porter and reached out to 21,000+ leaders in 30+ countries. His first book Strategy Execution Heroes reached the Amazon bestseller list in 5 countries and was nominated for Management Book of the Year 2012 in the Netherlands.

naseba offers business facilitation platforms for clients who want to develop in growth markets. Naseba conducts exhaustive research, match buyers and sellers and then produce high-profile events, all with a strategic focus on facilitating deals -- all in the right place and at the right time. naseba is a global company with offices in Dubai, Bangalore & Chicago, and on the ground presence in Algiers, Jeddah, Shanghai, and Kuala Lumpur.

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For more information, visit www.shiftINpartners.com or call +971 2 656 58 66.

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© Press Release 2015