The following is a blog post reprinted with permission from AchieveIt.
Okay, so this is going to be one of those "you've got to be kidding me" moments, what many of us call a BFO: Blinding Flash of the Obvious. An example of strategic planning so basic that you will wonder why we are even addressing it here. Yet a week doesn't go by that I don't review or read about an organization's plan that commits this very critical error. And then these same organizations wonder why, for all their effort and hard work, the status quo remains the status quo.
That said, if you want to accelerate business results, then stop allowing tasks to drive your plans. It's as simple as that. Instead, use measurable and quantifiable objectives. [i] As an example of strategic planning objectives, if you want to increase revenue, then measure revenue. If you want to decrease your error rate, then measure error rate. If you want to increase production, then measure production. But DO NOT allow the subordinate tasks that are the means to the end to be the things that you measure.
A Personal Example of Strategic Planning
Let me illustrate this in a very simple way through a very basic example of strategic planning tactics.
I need to shed some pounds. There is no doubt about that. Once I hit 50, I started getting a little flabby around the middle. So, in order to lose weight, I recently put together a weight loss action plan (a strategy) that includes a number of action items (tactics). My tactics included:
• Reading a book about diet and nutrition.
• Seeing my physician for a checkup.
• Joining a fitness center.
• Hiring a personal trainer.
• Purchasing some basic equipment for my home.
• Purchasing resistance bands for when I travel.
• Purchasing the P90X DVD series. [ii]
As an example of strategic planning, it sounds like a pretty good plan, doesn't it? Matter of fact, I actually did all of these things. Every one. Crossed them all off my list. And then I gained 10 more pounds. So, was I successful? I completed my action plan, right? Yet no one would even attempt to argue that my weight loss plan had any degree of success. And for obvious reasons.
So why is this example of strategic planning so easy to understand in the context of a personal objective — that being to lose 20 pounds — but so difficult to execute in a corporate setting. Strategic plan after strategic plan and operational plan after operational plan are filled with such nonsense. I have seen major organizational objectives include things such as implementing a new technology system, developing a new office building, launching a new customer satisfaction program, and the like. I can only surmise that these types of things are elevated to the level of strategic and operational objectives because of the sheer amount of dollars, time and/or organizational resources required to execute them.
Yet, here is what often happens: The technology system is implemented and efficiency gets worse, not better. The new office building, as just one example of strategic planning, is opened, but the revenue it was hoping to generate never materializes because economic conditions aren't right. The customer satisfaction program is launched, as yet another example of strategic planning, but customer satisfaction worsens. And despite all of these things, we still have the audacity to stand up as a management team and claim victory.
"The new billing system takes some time getting used to, which is why billing errors are going up. We implemented the technology flawlessly, though, so we should be proud of ourselves. In fact, we should be rewarded even though we haven't seen results just yet."
"It's a beautiful building. We can't be held liable to changing market conditions though. We came in on time and on budget. The building is a masterpiece. In fact, we deserve to be rewarded for our efforts even though the additional overhead expense is driving us into the ground."
"We implemented every element of the customer service program as planned. It's only a matter of time before we start to see an upswing. After all, the only people we usually hear from are unhappy customers anyway. Because of our hard work, we deserve to be rewarded for our efforts."
These statements all sound ludicrous, don't they. Yet strike through the last sentence of each — which are never actually spoken, but are often the intent — and words such as these are spoken in board rooms across the county every day — prime examples of strategic planning problems. Executives asking to be measured for tasks they completed, rather than for the results they achieved. Success should be measured by results: An increase in measurable employee efficiency and productivity that the technology system was supposed to provide, an increase in top-line revenue that the new office building should have generated, and an increase in customer satisfaction that the new program was intended to achieve. This is the essence of execution management.
Had the above example of strategic planning been measured that way, the strategies themselves would have been considered failures, for even though they were all implemented, none brought the intended results. Just like me gaining 10 pounds when I meant to lose 20. I did a lot of stuff, and my weight actually got worse for my efforts. This alone tells me I need a new plan. Which is why I ate steel cut oatmeal for breakfast this morning and am now headed to the gym. Yet one final example of strategic planning.
[i] http://www.ehow.com/info_7746573_smart-objectives-marketing-plans.html
[ii] http://www.beachbody.com/product/p90x.do
Creating a Culture of Innovation
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Okay, so this is going to be one of those "you've got to be kidding me" moments, what many of us call a BFO: Blinding Flash of the Obvious. An example of strategic planning so basic that you will wonder why we are even addressing it here. Yet a week doesn't go by that I don't review or read about an organization's plan that commits this very critical error. And then these same organizations wonder why, for all their effort and hard work, the status quo remains the status quo.
That said, if you want to accelerate business results, then stop allowing tasks to drive your plans. It's as simple as that. Instead, use measurable and quantifiable objectives. [i] As an example of strategic planning objectives, if you want to increase revenue, then measure revenue. If you want to decrease your error rate, then measure error rate. If you want to increase production, then measure production. But DO NOT allow the subordinate tasks that are the means to the end to be the things that you measure.
A Personal Example of Strategic Planning
Let me illustrate this in a very simple way through a very basic example of strategic planning tactics.
I need to shed some pounds. There is no doubt about that. Once I hit 50, I started getting a little flabby around the middle. So, in order to lose weight, I recently put together a weight loss action plan (a strategy) that includes a number of action items (tactics). My tactics included:
• Reading a book about diet and nutrition.
• Seeing my physician for a checkup.
• Joining a fitness center.
• Hiring a personal trainer.
• Purchasing some basic equipment for my home.
• Purchasing resistance bands for when I travel.
• Purchasing the P90X DVD series. [ii]
As an example of strategic planning, it sounds like a pretty good plan, doesn't it? Matter of fact, I actually did all of these things. Every one. Crossed them all off my list. And then I gained 10 more pounds. So, was I successful? I completed my action plan, right? Yet no one would even attempt to argue that my weight loss plan had any degree of success. And for obvious reasons.
So why is this example of strategic planning so easy to understand in the context of a personal objective — that being to lose 20 pounds — but so difficult to execute in a corporate setting. Strategic plan after strategic plan and operational plan after operational plan are filled with such nonsense. I have seen major organizational objectives include things such as implementing a new technology system, developing a new office building, launching a new customer satisfaction program, and the like. I can only surmise that these types of things are elevated to the level of strategic and operational objectives because of the sheer amount of dollars, time and/or organizational resources required to execute them.
Yet, here is what often happens: The technology system is implemented and efficiency gets worse, not better. The new office building, as just one example of strategic planning, is opened, but the revenue it was hoping to generate never materializes because economic conditions aren't right. The customer satisfaction program is launched, as yet another example of strategic planning, but customer satisfaction worsens. And despite all of these things, we still have the audacity to stand up as a management team and claim victory.
"The new billing system takes some time getting used to, which is why billing errors are going up. We implemented the technology flawlessly, though, so we should be proud of ourselves. In fact, we should be rewarded even though we haven't seen results just yet."
"It's a beautiful building. We can't be held liable to changing market conditions though. We came in on time and on budget. The building is a masterpiece. In fact, we deserve to be rewarded for our efforts even though the additional overhead expense is driving us into the ground."
"We implemented every element of the customer service program as planned. It's only a matter of time before we start to see an upswing. After all, the only people we usually hear from are unhappy customers anyway. Because of our hard work, we deserve to be rewarded for our efforts."
These statements all sound ludicrous, don't they. Yet strike through the last sentence of each — which are never actually spoken, but are often the intent — and words such as these are spoken in board rooms across the county every day — prime examples of strategic planning problems. Executives asking to be measured for tasks they completed, rather than for the results they achieved. Success should be measured by results: An increase in measurable employee efficiency and productivity that the technology system was supposed to provide, an increase in top-line revenue that the new office building should have generated, and an increase in customer satisfaction that the new program was intended to achieve. This is the essence of execution management.
Had the above example of strategic planning been measured that way, the strategies themselves would have been considered failures, for even though they were all implemented, none brought the intended results. Just like me gaining 10 pounds when I meant to lose 20. I did a lot of stuff, and my weight actually got worse for my efforts. This alone tells me I need a new plan. Which is why I ate steel cut oatmeal for breakfast this morning and am now headed to the gym. Yet one final example of strategic planning.
[i] http://www.ehow.com/info_7746573_smart-objectives-marketing-plans.html
[ii] http://www.beachbody.com/product/p90x.do
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