Send to KindleThe Most Important Parts of Strategic Planning
As I refined the strategic planning model I use today, I winnowed out steps I found so long and cumbersome that they detracted from actually completing a plan which organizations really need. So, everything that’s left is critical to accomplishing a strategic plan.
But, there are two steps that can make or break the implementation of the plan.
The first is spreading the word: quite simply, communication. I was in an organization once that hired a consulting company to create a strategic plan. The leadership met regularly for months and months but nothing useful resulted because they kept the results of these long deliberations secret. The people who were to implement the plan never saw the plan. Instead, they received snippets of information from the organization’s senior leader when he felt it was necessary to tell the organization where it was failing to measure up. I know that doesn’t make sense, but that kind of twisted logic is more common than you might think.
Your strategic plan is the foundation for everything your organization does. It’s also the most effective way to engage your employees in the organization’s, and their own, success. If they don’t know what it is, then it’s just another useless corporate exercise.
The second is follow-up. For the plan to be a success, it’s critical for leaders to show continued interest. Leaders do this by first, basing everything the organization does on the plan’s provisions and second, holding people accountable for meeting their goals. Your workers are only going to be interested in what you interested in. I tasked my leadership team to provide a monthly update on the goals they were responsible for. It didn’t take long and I didn’t create a new meeting. Rather at a meeting that we already had, I asked each of them to give a short synopsis of where they were on achieving their goals and a brief explanation of any problems getting in their way. I found this kept everyone interested in the plan and allowed us to nip problems early.
“Problem Solving and Decision Making”
This video and accompanying checklists will help you develop a better, more efficient system for solving problems and making decisions.
Get it free when you sign up for the Plan-Lead-Excel Letter.
| Get Problem Solving and Decision Making |
Without these two steps, even the best plan will fail. But, when leaders ensure good communication and effective follow-up, they ensure success of a good plan.
