I'm a strong proponent of the value of strategic planning but I'm also glad to acknowledge that the vast majority of strategic plans rarely drive real action or measurable results. The reasons why are numerous, but a recent article I read in Harvard Business Review made a great point about strategy.

In The Big Lie of Strategic Planning Roger L. Martin, makes the point that, inevitably, whenever the word "strategy" is used, it's often in conjunction with the word "plan" -- those two words then become, somehow forever, and inaccurately, intertwined. 

This piece resonated with me because I've often said that I wish we just called the whole process "strategic doing" instead of "strategic planning." The big benefit of the process, after all, is not in the planning--it's in the doing.

Your plan is not your strategy. Your strategy is not your plan.

One of the biggest disappointments I tend to have when working with groups to develop strategic plans is that they rarely take the time to create real strategies. There are a variety of reasons for this:

• The concept of strategy can be difficult to grasp even for the most intelligent among us; it can take time to grasp the concept, but once you do it's powerful.
• It's difficult for those in the planning process to step outside the operational realities of their work. They're too close to the day-to-day and struggle to take a higher level, and potentially more innovative, view of what the future might hold.
• The inputs to the planning process may be based more on supposition and opinion than real data. If you're building strategies on opinions you could be either missing opportunities or chasing ones that aren't there.
• They're engaged in GroupThink and stepping over the "elephants in the room." Team members are often hesitant to rock the boat, especially when their bosses and senior leaders are present. 

What to do about it? Martin offers some general advice in four broad categories; read more here.