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By Phil Eastman
Over the course of a year, we help many clients create strategic plans. Our planning process called Purpose Driven Performance consists of six elements that we believe are critical for articulating an organization's direction and applying the strategies and tactics necessary to implement that plan. Over the years we have had the privilege of creating
numerous plans for clients where their previous plans
(created by other consultants) had failed. This pattern of
plan failures made me curious as to why some strategic
plans are successful and other's fail. Here are my
thoughts about both the creation and implementation of
plans for organizations of all sizes.
Resist the desire to make the plan too large.
There is a point in the planning process when we
begin to discuss the organization wide
objectives/strategies. A team keenly interested in the
organization's success, has the tendency to try to fix
everything in one session. This leads to a list of
strategies that would break the back of the proverbial
camel in short order.
We have found that although it is worthwhile to get all the
strategies out on the table and discuss them, we insist
that our clients reduce the list of organizational objectives
to no more than five which they will commit to working on
over the course of a year to complete. This list of five,
often includes some strategies that are already underway
within the organization, as well as some that will need
new resources committed before they can be
implemented.
Several years ago, we worked with an organization to
articulate a plan where another plan had been previously
created. Before conducting the session, I met with the
executives to discuss their expectations for the planning
process. During that meeting, one of the executives
described the previous plan as the "failed fifteen." When I
inquired about what he meant, he explained the previous
plan had fifteen strategies that were to be implemented in
the course of a year.
Although all of the strategies were legitimate objectives,
the organization did not accomplish any of them. The
plan was too large when placed in the context of the daily
work of the organization. Even though well meaning, the
executives ignored the whole plan because it was too
overwhelming.
Planning is easy compared to
implementation. There is a trap for clients, when
they engage a consultant to help with strategic planning,
there will be too much focus on the planning event and not
enough on the implementation.
Strategic plans are usually created in an offsite setting
where a cross section of the organization gets together to
spend a day/days thinking of the future of the
organization. These days are expensive because the
organization has hired a consultant, rented a facility, and
asked its most expensive employees to take time from
their duties to plan. Because of these factors, it is easy to
build up anticipation for the planning event only to be let
down by the work of implementation.
A few years ago, an advertisement ran on television for a
global consulting firm where two well dressed consultants
were handing over a planning report to a client. The client
reviewed the report, agreed with its findings and then said
to the consultants, "well now, how do we implement your
recommendations." The startled consultants looked at
each other and then back to the client and said, "Oh, we
don't do implementation, we just determine what is
wrong."
The reality is that even the best consultant or advisor
cannot implement the plan created in the session. As
consultants and advisors, I view our role as one where we
provide the setting and system for planning. We limit the
scope of the plan to something that is attainable for the
organization. We also provide support and
encouragement along the way to the leadership team and
accountability for the implementation of the plan.
The most challenging portion of any plan is the implementation. So remember the proportional effort needed to work the plan is exponentially greater than the effort to create it. When it comes to strategic plans, be rigidly
flexible. "Strategic planning is not an event, it is a
discipline." By this I mean, that one of the outcomes of a
good planning approach will be implementing the plan.
Another outcome should be the ability of the
organization's leadership to think and act strategically. If
you will, it is to lift their collective heads up and help them
to see the forest not just the trees of daily activity. In our
leadership assessment we have a competency called
strategic thinking and it includes the following behaviors
for leaders:
My point here is that "the best laid plans of mice and men
often go awry" and thus it is important to not only create
solid plans but to remain flexible during implementation to
make changes to the plan as circumstances change.
This makes strategic planning a discipline in the
organization rather than an event.
So when you are tempted to create your first plan or to
refresh the plans of the past, resist the urge to make your
plan too large, remember that implementation is
substantially more challenging that plan creation, and stay
rigidly flexible. Following these three tips should help find
value in the planning process success in the plan's
implementation.
Phil Eastman is the founder and
president of
Leadership Advisors Group, a Boise-based
consulting firm. Phil combines more than 25
years of leadership experience with his passion
for consulting, coaching, and teaching to develop
leaders, build teams, and improve performance.
It is his desire to enhance leadership
effectiveness for all of his clientele.
Phil earned a Bachelors of Business Administration
degree in Management and Organization from Idaho State
University. He is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking
School at the University of Washington where he is also
an instructor. Phil also holds a Master of Arts degree in
Theological Studies from Bethel Seminary.
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"Storytelling is a powerful way to put ideas into the
world."
We are gathering stories that people can relate to within
business, community, government, & families. We want
to hear your experiences as an individual or
from within your organization that demonatrates the
lessons learned positively or negatively:
Please submit your stories to Lorene Rasmussen,
lorene@leadershipadvisors.com or Phil
Eastman, phil@leadershipadvisors.com.
With your permission, we want to use this collection within our writings, workshops, and speeches, to help illustrate the principles we teach. Everyone likes a good story! We are drawn to the
characters, the conflicts, and catalytic changes that life
brings to us. We look forward to hearing from
you!
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Leadership Advisors Group will help you
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"The greatest gap is the one between I should and I did."~ John Maxwell
 Phil Eastman & Lorene Rasmussen
Leadership Advisors Group
email:
phil@leadershipadvisors.com
phone:
(208) 344-0471
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