|
||||||||
| Is Your Strategy Gathering Dust? by Mike Wagner |
|
He was the CEO of a financial services firm with 30 employees located in three states. Our business discussion began with his seemingly innocent question, "Does your company lead strategic planning sessions?"
The tone in his voice seemed like he hoped I would answer, “No”. So, I probed a bit more, “That’s an interesting question, why do you ask?”
He pointed to a shelf in his office containing a series of binders labeled 2003… 2004… 2005… - all the way up to 2009.
“Those are our strategic plans for the last seven years. An elegant binder for each year - and not a one of them has made a real difference in this company. I asked you if you did strategic planning because I want to know what we’re doing wrong.”
Many clients have talked to us about the “S word”: strategy. They are frustrated by the gap between the time and money they have invested in planning and the results (or lack thereof) they have gotten.
There are three common fatal flaws in the strategic plans we have been asked to review and improve:
Too complicated. If your strategy is too complex it won’t stay in the minds of your employees. If it doesn't stay in the minds of your employees it won’t be acted on. If it’s not acted on, performance doesn't change.
At a recent Performance Branding workshop for organizational leaders a participant shared, “I can’t remember what we decided about our strategy.” If top-leaders who spent hours creating a strategy can’t remember it, no one else in the organization will be able to either.
No rollout plan. Some leaders act like strategic plans should be locked up and hidden. Yet, without a well-executed rollout plan every strategy will prove a waste of precious time and money. Instead, it needs to be shared, explained, and “sold” to everyone in the organization.
You should put as much thought and energy into your rollout plan as you did in forming the strategy!
Not connected. Once employees are aware of the plan they need to understand how it connects to the customer experience. Tasks which don’t seem to have a purpose or make a difference fail to motivate employees to take them on. Show how each goal, objective, and action item connects to moving the organization forward by fulfilling a promise to a customer and you’ll have engaged employees implementing your plan.
So, back to the original question posed by that CEO regarding us facilitating strategic planning sessions, The answer is a qualified “Yes”. We guide leaders through a process which focuses on how customers experience your brand. We help them make it simple enough to remember and act on, insist they communicate the plan throughout the organization, and above all, relate every action back to the customer experience.
Why? Because an implemented strategy gathers no dust.