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by Erica Olsen
More often than not, life and day-to-day operations take over a well-intentioned strategic plan implementation. If it is one more thing everyone has to do, the strategic plan beings to feel like a burden instead of being exciting. By embedding your strategic planning into daily operations, you begin to make strategy a habit instead of an event. Then acting strategic or completing items on your strategic plan becomes natural instead of something extra. Here are ten quick ways to keep your strategic plan from hitting the shelf and collecting dust.
Getting Everyone Involved
from the Start
Make your organization’s plan everyone’s plan. Taking a
top down approach is a recipe for failure. Instead, involve everyone
on you staff from the start. Throughout the chapters there are references
to group exercises and employee feedback. Use them to help develop a
strategic plan that everyone feels part of. Take the next step and assign
every staff member a goal or objective. Then he or she has direct responsibility
for achieving a piece of the organization’s strategy.
Deleting the Fluff
The sure death of a strategic plan is entombing it in hundreds of pages
of text. Less is more. Delete the non-essential verbiage that just clutters
up the page. Remember: Your strategic plan is not a business plan. Your
strategic plan is for you, your staff, and board. It’s not a sales
piece. Delete the fluff.
Appointing a Strategy Engineer
Appoint someone besides yourself to be the point person for the strategic
plan. Anoint this person as the strategy engineer. He or she is responsible
for keeping track of your progress through the use of a scorecard (see
Chapter 14); getting updates from managers and staff on goals, objectives,
and action plans; and organizing meetings and communications about the
strategic plan. Ideally your strategy engineer is highly organized and
commands the respect of everyone in your company or department. Remember:
No matter how much you’d like to do it, it can’t be you.
Creating a Strategic Plan Poster
By putting your strategic plan on one page, by default, you keep your
strategic plan from even touching the shelf. Yes, you need back up documentation,
which probably should be in a three-ring binder on a shelf. But put
the key parts of your strategic plan on one page, blow it up at Kinkos,
and hang it in your break room or common area. By creating a strategic
plan poster, you keep everyone focused on your organization’s
strategic direction.
Hooking Achievement into Incentives
We all like to be rewarded for a job well done. Dangling a carrot out
there for successfully implementing your strategic plan is a sure way
to get some action. Incentives take all different shapes and colors.
The green kind is always welcome, but you can develop all sorts of creative
perks. By paying for performance, you elevate the importance of your
strategic plan.
Using a KISS
When all else fails – Keep It Simple Stupid. For your strategic
plan to be implemented, everyone in your organization has to understand
it. Failing prey to big business lingo and confusing jargon diminishes
the effectiveness of your plan. It’s really easy to develop a
confusing strategic plan. Resist the urge. Use the KISS rule.
Holding a Monthly Strategy Meeting
Groan…another meeting? Well, yes and no. Replace one of your regularly
scheduled staff meetings with a strategy meeting. Meetings about strategy
are exciting and people want to be involved. The purpose of the meeting
is to discuss the status of your plan. Cross of what has been completed.
Troubleshoot if something is not happening. Make changes where needed.
See for more info. You’ll be surprised at the enthusiasm and effectiveness
for this type of meeting.
Using a Scorecard
Keeping your plan alive requires constant communication. This can seem
like too big of a task, so it just falls by the wayside. But if your
staff does not know where they stand, it’s impossible to keep
implementing. Ignorance is bliss. By using a scorecard you keep everyone
in the loop. A scorecard provides a quick snapshot of your organization’s
strategic position. Turn the scorecard in to charts and graphs and you
have a quick visual that communicates your progress and is fun to look
at!
Leading by Example
There is no better way to keep your plan alive than your leadership.
Your complete and total commitment is critical to the success of your
plan. If you pull back, even just a little, it gives everyone a license
to slack. So talk about your organization’s strategy regularly.
Use it in conversations with clients, customers, and board members.
Ask questions of your staff about its progress - is it working, isn’t
working? When making budget decisions, point back to your plan. Does
it fit or doesn’t it? Be a strategic leader and your people will
follow.
Celebrating Your Success
Too often we are so focused on tomorrow’s tasks, we forget to
recognize successes today. Don’t wait until the end of the year
to recognize achievement. Celebrate small successes along the way! Did
you achieve a big goal? Bring in pizza. Take the staff to lunch. Give
everyone the day off. Go on a fun outing. No matter how big or small,
by celebrating success along the way you’ll keep everyone excited
and engaged.
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