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Written by Randall Rollinson
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Tuesday, 15 May 2012 10:05 |
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For 35 years now I have been steeped, brewed and captivated by the discipline and thoughtful nature of strategic planning and management. Initially I was mesmerized by the power of the facilitator (i.e. Lead) and the tangible value he or she brings to clearly defining an organization’s vision, mission, values and goals. Over time I learned these foundational strategic planning components are of little value unless they are grounded in a leadership team’s keen understanding of the organization’s environment (i.e. Think). Insights gained from a thinking-driven environmental assessment process must then be translated into a viable strategy and an effective plan of action to meet the needs of a particular market if real value is to be realized (i.e. Plan). For many years I thought my job was done when my client reached this very important milestone.
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Written by Dr. Earl Young
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Tuesday, 15 May 2012 09:13 |
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Please read Part I first - Get It Done! The Stratey Execution Process
“Act” refers to the process translating the strategic plan into effective ongoing operations. Without effective implementation processes in place and capable management and staff available to carry them out, all the time, effort, and energy spent on strategy formulation and planning are wasted. Unfortunately, this occurs all too often as detailed strategic plans remain on executive credenzas.
The root cause allowing this to happen is a failure of executive leadership to maintain a vital and continuing rolethroughout strategy implementation. This stems from their tendency to consider implementation a process to hand off to lower levels of management not realizing, all the while, they have a pivotal role and continuing responsibility throughout all phases of the implementation process.
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Written by Dr. Earl Young
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Tuesday, 15 May 2012 08:20 |
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Please read Part I first - Get It Done! The Stratey Execution Process
Once the strategy implementation nested in the “Lead-Think-Plan-Act” paradigm (see preceding post), the key challenge confronting the implementation team is to set up and maintain an effective and efficient implementation process. This, in turn, requires meeting two primary challenges:
- Organization of the implementation process (the subject of this post)
- Development of an effective and efficient implementation team
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Written by Dr. Earl Young
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Monday, 23 April 2012 12:11 |
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After World War II, many U.S. corporations began to incorporate the large-scale planning and operating systems that had proven successful by the military during the war. However, the critical preceding processes of strategic leadership and strategic thinking were not as easily transferred and adapted to peacetime use. In most companies the focus remained on strategic planning until the early 1990s (see “Strategic Thinking Part I” on this blog site)
Not surprisingly, most of these plans were not successfully implemented, since they were made using planning templates not sufficiently adapted to fit the context, situation, level of development, and abilities of management. This stems from using a faulty strategic planning approach that makes strategic planning tantamount to strategic management, instead of positioning it as an imbedded process in the more inclusive and effective “Lead Think Plan Act” (LTPA) approach to strategic planning.
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Written by Randall Rollinson
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Monday, 23 April 2012 15:53 |
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Strategic thinking is primarily an analytic and creative process that results in development of an overall strategic plan. Whereas, strategic planning is a holistic process which converts strategic thinking into an integrated plan of action which can be implemented.
During “planning” leadership teams are challenged to determine and ultimately articulate the organization’s strategy. To do this, leaders have options. The discipline of scenario planning is most helpful here. At some point, objective criteria are used to select the best set of strategies for success, and fundamental decisions are made which lay the groundwork for making the strategy operational.
As I think about the inseparability of these processes, I’m reminded of how important it is to understand and think about strategy formulation and strategic planning from three different start points. Before giving our three-point perspective, let me offer up this caveat. There is no single “best way” to think about or formulate a strategy and/or build a strategic plan. Many theorists and practitioners have their own legitimate perspectives. My advice is to use the model that best fits the situation.
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