Strategy and Execution: Lessons Learned from the Public Sector

The concept of strategic management in the public sector has attracted great attention in the past two decades. Unfortunately, current research shows that more attention is given to strategy development phases but less to strategy implementation. In fact, there is little literature about public sector strategies in the existing body of knowledge. In this article, we provide a short case study of strategy implementation at one of the most successful public sector organizations in the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Identity Authority (Emirates ID) is a renowned government agency with an international reputation for its strategic planning and execution. The content of this article covers the 2010–2013 strategy at Emirates ID. We attempt to briefly analyze how the strategy impacted the overall organizational performance at Emirates ID and also attempt to explain some underlying factors that contributed to the overall success of the strategy. Finally, we draw on some of the lessons learned from this strategy exercise in terms of the challenges faced and how they have been tackled.