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Archive for the ‘Strategic Planning’ Category

Copyright (c) 2007 Gayla Hodges

At this time of year, many companies look to the future and put together a Strategic Plan and/or a Business Plan for the coming year(s). For many, this has become a matter of looking at the last plan and changing the numbers to match new goals. If this is your process, you’re missing a huge opportunity to build the strategic thinking and planning capability of your organization.

Whether you have a team of two, twenty, two hundred or two thousand plus, the strategic planning process provides multiple opportunities to develop employees and positively impact the bottom line. Here are a few suggestions of how to supercharge your strategic planning process and make it a vital part of your organization’s success.

Create Pre-Planning Teams

Charter a team of three or four people to do advance research on industry trends, internal and external factors that will likely affect the future of your company in both positive and negative ways. Build time early in your agenda for a presentation from the team. This not only saves time in your planning session but gives those on the advance team an opportunity to think and learn from the research.

Charter a Stakeholder Audit Team. The size of this team will depend on how many stakeholders you identify. A stakeholder is a person or entity that has a “stake” in your success as a company. Stakeholders might include customers, suppliers, community leaders, etc. The job of this team is to interview these key individuals to get their input about what they need from your organization and/or how you might work more effectively together. This team will need to summarize and analyze the data they collect and bring it back to the planning team for use in the actual planning session.

Be sure to include some of your high potential non-managers on these teams so they are exposed to the process and have the opportunity to think at a higher level than their job usually demands.

Include Bargaining Unit Leaders and HR

If you work with a bargaining unit, include them in the process. Many items become easier to negotiate when Union leaders understand the big picture and the challenges the organization is facing. Also, Union leaders bring the viewpoint of your employees to the table in a unique way that can be very helpful in designing the “people” initiatives you will need to be successful.

Make sure to invite your Human Resources Director/Manager to the table. Many companies put together a strategic plan with multiple “people” strategies without the input of the HR Department. Since most of these strategies will fall to the HR Department for implementation or at least major support, it’s in everyone’s best interest to incorporate their ideas as well as making sure the strategies are implemented “as intended.”

Use an Outside Facilitator

This can either be from another part of your organization or an outside consultant. Either way, your focus should be on the actual strategic thinking and planning. Executives who try to facilitate their own strategic plans are like doctors who try to treat themselves. It’s not the best use of your professional expertise. A trained facilitator will bring out the best in each of those participating in the process, including the leader!!

Include a Communications Professional in the Process

You will want the document you create to be a tool that is used throughout the year. A professional can help you simplify difficult concepts, communicate concisely and format for utility. Remember, the major purpose of the document you distribute to employees is to engage them in the goals of the organization.

Distribute a Copy of the Plan to Each Employee

Make sure your first line Supervisors understand the major components of your plan and, more importantly, how they will contribute to reaching the goals of the plan. Then, have them distribute copies of the plan. Research shows that employees trust the Supervisor that they know more than upper management. So, roll out the plan but give your Supervisors the info they need to explain it.

Keep the Plan Alive Throughout the Year

Include regular updates on progress toward strategic goals in your organization’s communication channels. Bring the planning team back together once a quarter to review the plan and track progress. Showcase teams or individuals who are directly impacting the success of the plan in company communication vehicles. Most importantly, celebrate milestones reached along the way.

Use the Plan

If your copy of your company’s strategic plan doesn’t have dog-eared pages and coffee stains by mid-year, you’re not getting the most out of the plan. As a leader, those you interact with should be so used to seeing you with a copy of your plan that they notice when you don’t mention it. And, since you are their leader, you will begin to notice that they are bringing up company goals, milestones and impacts on a more regular basis as well. This is the power of the plan. It has the potential to engage people at every level of your organization in striving to meet company goals.

You may be thinking, this is fine for larger companies but I’m an Entrepreneur and/or my company consists of only a few people. How will this work for me? It will actually work very well if you think about all those who have a “stake” in your business and engage them in the process. Ask associates, your Mastermind Group, or key individuals you respect from the networking organizations you belong to for their help in building your plan. That way you will not only build a plan, you will build relationships that energize your success.

 

Strategic planning only helps organizations when they are kept active and implemented. The strategic plan defines the business direction. That direction is based on the future, the vision of the company. Before an effective strategic plan can be developed a clear and compelling vision is needed. Visions are optimistic, the ideal picture of the future. The strategic plan that results from the leadership team’s strategic planning is the map to that vision and then it is only effective if it is implemented.

 

Strategic plans can sound intimidating and overwhelming to many small business owners. The most effective strategic plans are those that are simple, completed with the leadership team and key people in the company. Complex documents that consume excessive amounts of time to create don’t guarantee success. In fact, the large and cumbersome strategic plan can be so overwhelming that it just doesn’t work. Strategic planning sessions that go on and on for months also fail because so much time is consumed in the planning and the implementation, which is the key, is pushed aside. The goal to have the perfect strategic plan doesn’t produce results. Instead, the team that engages in strategic planning and produces a good working document is more likely to succeed.

 

To create your strategic plan:

 

Start with vision. Write down what you envision for the future. What does the future of your business look like? What do you want for the future? Vision stories are inspiring, it’s your dream. Once you have created your vision you can begin building strategies.

 

The vision is the destination, where you are going. The strategies are the map that gets you to the vision. Company values are the guide or the “compass” in our map metaphor for making decisions along the way. Values keep you oriented and in alignment. When values are out of alignment the company is off track; not moving in the direction of the vision.

 

Strategic goals can be limited to the top 6-10. By having fewer goals the plan is able to stay alive and in front of you and the team. By alive, it means that the plan is always where you can see it, use it and keep working on it. It means that the team is focused on the strategic goals at all times, talking about them, brainstorming on them and reporting to each other their successes and challenges.

 

To set strategies for your business first look at the vision, the different aspects of the vision. Brainstorm all of the goals, all of the strategies for each aspect of the vision. With brainstorming it is important to get all of the ideas out and write them down without judging them or editing them. Often the best idea comes from an idea that at first look seemed too wild or crazy. Ideas jump off of other ideas.

 

Once you have brainstormed all of the possible goals, prioritize them. Often strategic goals can be grouped with similar strategies. This can help in the prioritization process. The goal is to narrow the list down to the top 6-10 strategies. What are the goals or strategies that will give your business the future you envision, that will create a breakthrough that will produce the results that you want? Those are the goals that you should be selecting as top priorities.

 

Creating a powerful strategic plan is just one of the first steps. Many organizations have strategic plans that are well thought out and crafted. Where they fall short is in the implementation of that plan. Implementation is the key. If you fail to implement, the results will not be what you set out to achieve.

 

Implementation is the result of focused and continuous action. Strategic plans don’t just happen on their own: they require your attention. By keeping the plan in front of you and the team responsible for the plan, focus is maintained. Regular meetings about the plan also keep the plan moving in the right direction. Check-in meetings hold people accountable. When teams don’t meet and don’t keep their eye on the plan, the day to day interferes and the status quo remains. In order to make changes in the results that you achieve there has to be intention and commitment on the part of the team. The check-in meeting gives the team the opportunity to review what is happening, what is interfering with the results they want and need and make the changes necessary to change the outcomes. Through the intention of the leadership, the plan and the team, the culture of the workplace can shift from one of non-performance to one of performance focused.

 

Performance focused companies are companies that are thriving. The energy of high performing teams shifts the energy of the whole organization. It becomes more positive and contagious. People become excited about the vision, the plan and their implementation of the plan. Results create energy and excitement that keeps the plan moving, it propels the plan and the ultimate results of the company.

 

Organizations that produce results have a clear vision of the future; have a plan that is simple and strategic; and they work on the plan all the time. Their actions are designed to move that plan forward. They don’t let themselves or others get in the way. Through effective strategic planning and by implementing the strategic plan organizations achieve results.

 

 

 

Strategic planning and strategic leadership styles vary just as the employees and owners of companies involved in the planning process differ. Visit local bookstores or check on line to see hundreds of books claiming to have the secrets to a successful business and easy strategic planning. Technology and the Internet has forced companies to make changes. Has the ability to get along with and manage others changed? Many businesses today are international. Constant news reports keep everyone updated on issues affecting the business world. The skills needed to effectively manage others have not changed that much. Rather employees today are not as willing to put up with poor leadership or bullies in the manager’s office, anymore. Employees have more choices and they expect leaders to be authentic.
Strategic leadership is defined as determining where an organization is going and how to get there. Years ago this was called long-range planning. Decisions then were made by upper management behind closed doors. Today strategic planning is likely to involve individuals from all levels of management and staff. Companies are learning the best way to achieve excellent plans and full company support is to involve individuals from all levels of the business.

Strategic leadership usually involves planning. Companies do not achieve their goals accidentally or by luck but rather by setting goals. Companies use different methods for strategic planning. They are based on the type of business, the mission statement or the marketing strategy. Basically the steps are the same with each model, some models are more complex and detailed. Small business owners and companies alike should adapt strategic planning to fit their situation. It’s helpful to review how other leaders determine business strategies. It’s critical to know leadership of a company is not one size fits all.
Thinking about where a company is going leads to discussions on what they do their product or service. Without this knowledge strategic planning will not work. Sometimes companies write their mission statements during this stage of planning. Mission statements range from one simple sentence to numerous detailed paragraphs. Regardless of length the intent is to state the core purpose of the corporation what’s at the heart of the business. Companies then elaborate on their mission statements by adding vision and value statements.
Value statements usually deal with customer type, target markets, business activities or things they will not do. Moral values and public sentiment sometimes play a role. Companies that misjudge this often lose customers and market position. Vision and value statements, just like mission statements, are unique to the business. Truett Cathy, the owner of Chick-fil-A, is a good example. They will never open their restaurants on Sunday. This planning stage is sometimes referred to as strategic analysis.
Howard Behar, author of “It’s not about the Coffee/Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks” defines his leadership philosophy as people are more important than the coffee. He believes when companies take care of their people employees and customers the business is profitable. Sometimes companies struggle to define their product. In the above situation many individuals define coffee as the product. Yet their strategic leaders define it as people. It helps to go beyond the physical product to see what need the product fills. Companies can’t engage in strategic planning until there is clarity and agreement on what needs the company fulfills.
When determining the purpose of a company it is critical to analyze the environment they operate in. What’s the competition? What are they doing to generate sales? What future trends might affect the business? If they market to a certain segment do they need to change or update their services? Are they using the most up to date technology available? How does the Internet apply to their business? Should they shift from a local to an international focus? Questions such as these help strategic leaders decide what major issues the company faces as well as potential opportunities available.
Once a company completes strategic analysis it’s time to add the details. What actions are needed to fulfill their mission statement while balancing their values and vision? At this point the process becomes very detailed and specific. Usually there are multiple goals or objectives. It’s helpful to divide these by product, task, location, customer, or some way unique to the business. Each of the divisions has a different manager with different tasks/goals specific to that aspect of the business. It’s not enough to say the company wants to increase business. It’s better to be very specific. How does the company want to increase their business? How do they plan to do this? Add dates, amounts and numbers.
The company has determined their mission and what’s needed for this to happen. At this point the strategic leader usually releases details to the employees. The managers of each division usually report back to their managers with a trickling down effect. Team leads/managers explain the strategic plans during team meetings. Sometimes this announcement is kicked off with much promotion – lots of bells and whistles. Employees sometimes walk away thinking it’s just another year. Strategic plans do not affect me. Employee acceptance of mission and vision statements is largely determined by their involvement in the planning process and their attitude toward management.

Employees can struggle with the goals attached to mission/vision statements. To insure companies meet their goals, strategic planners include responsibilities, timelines and accountability in the mission statement. Sometimes this involves change which employees do not always embrace. If negative consequences result from unmet goals, employees usually have negative attitudes. Management doesn’t always recognize the feelings or issues of their employees. It’s essential that all employees understand what’s expected of them. Take time to answer their questions. Encourage teamwork. Listen.
Strategic plans usually involve budgets. Everybody likes money especially in their paycheck. If a company is doing well financially, and the new strategic plan does not include cutbacks, this is good news. But on the other hand, if money is tight, and the employees will not receive money as expected, this is bad news. Usually employees think of themselves first. When presenting a new mission statement to employees they typically think what’s in it for me. If the company needs to cut corners or eliminate positions, this causes stress for everyone involved. Part of strategic planning includes how to deliver strategic plans to the staff. A good leader makes sure this is done in a positive way with consideration for the feelings of everyone involved.
Strategic planning isn’t just for corporations. Small businesses, even a sole proprietor, benefit from making strategic plans on an annual basis. Usually the small business owner starts a company because they are good at one thing, but many times they don’t have the skills needed to develop a successful company. They provide a product or service but don’t know how to analyze the market, set goals, promote their business, or manage money. Writing a mission statement – determining where the company is going and how to get there – puts the business owner closer to the road of success.