LEADERSHIP STRATEGY: PLANNING DURING TURBULENCE

In the shift-age, speed and flexibility are major success factors.  Should the situation change, time spent developing a detailed strategic plan may be at best a waste of time, and at worst a performance inhibitor.  A less detailed forward thinking process held more frequently may be sufficient to keep people aligned but flexible should the need arise.

by LSI publisher Art McNeil

How to conduct a forward thinking session

Step #1 The warm up:

Begin every strategic thinking session by revisiting your Statement of Purpose (the corporate North star) and your Cultural-Values (the organization’s timeless foundation).  These two dimensions represent the “take-off runway” for a successful flight into the future.  Crash and burn is certain if the team slips off the runway.

Step #2 Focus a clear vision of the preferred future: 

The role of a corporate vision (in contrast to a strategic plan) is to entice people out of their “today box”.  To become an energy source, the CEO and senior team will have to run far down the beach (well beyond the organization’s current capacity) and plant the vision flag.  It must be inspiring, and compelling, (worth moving towards in spite of the odds)  John Kennedy’s vision of landing a man on the moon within ten years is what launched the Apollo mission and kept it going for ten years –in spite of seemingly insurmountable odds.   Keep the corporate vision “far out”— If the vision flag is planted too close, it will become another business plan discipline—not the energy generator a corporate vision is supposed to be. 

Step #3 Set the stage:

Imagine a giant cavern between your organization’s current reality and your vision of the organization’s preferred future.  You want to focus on bridging the performance gap. 

Step #4 Assess the ‘today side’ of your performance gap: 

Conduct a quick review of the accomplishments & failures of the last term.

A.   Review financial results:

•  Revenue
• Expenses
• Cash flow and access

B.   Determine and assess key underpinnings:

•  Identify positive and negative events (two separate lists) that would make a huge impact if they were to happen.
• Prioritize both lists in two dimensions: 1. severity of impact 2. probability of occurrence

 C.   Review industry trends

• Market growth/decline
• Competition and market share
• Technology shifts
• Government implications

 Step #5 Focus a strategy:

•   Use key constraint theory to make investment decisions based on getting the biggest bang for the buck (in the shift age, the  timing of cost allocation rules).
• How far across the performance gap (chasm between what is and your “far out” vision flag) will you move during the next term?
•  What will have to change to meet the corporate target?
• Make decisions.
•  Establish leading and lagging indicators for the organization as a whole and for each operating entity.
• Assign accountability and time lines for documentation and approval of operating plans.

Step #6  Document a one page overview

Concept:  Draft a One-Page Overview that will get your people moving in the same direction.  By distributing it to all employees and by focusing on its various aspects each time you interact with leaders and team members, you’ll help everyone remain up-to-date. 

The 4 Sections of a One Page Overview are:

1.   Description or Unique Business Proposition.

2.   Purpose (why the company is in business, focused on the customer)

3.   Goal (the overall goals of the company, usually 3-year or 5 year)

4.   Strategies (how the goal will be achieved with the customer via the company’s unique business approach)

 They can’t help you get there if they don’t know where there is.

This post sponsored by Art McNeil’s E- books  Download here for (PC and MAC)  also available  in E-bookstores

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