A time for tactical strategies…

Life is what happens while you are making other plans.- John Lennon

Business is what happens while you are making strategic plans.-Anonymous

What if …your normal strategic planning process could be reshaped into a more market responsive set of integrated initiatives that were quickly implemented by a fired up and enthusiastic organization all focused on making it happen?

We have rethought strategic planning from the inside out to build a robust and engaging approach that creates both short and longer-term initiatives coupled with an implementation process that delivers results…fast.

Over the years we have watched many excellent strategic plans fail to deliver, mostly because of poor implementation. And the fact is, most CEOs are replaced because they didn’t deliver on the strategies they sold to the board. While the strategies were on-target, implementation seemed like an afterthought and most efforts at implementation tended to be heavily silo-focused, quickly creating resource conflicts and competing priorities.

Add to poor deployment the fact that today’s pace of business and economic uncertainty place a premium on implementation speed and quick responsiveness, and we get the “perfect storm”.

Our new approach has focused on shifting the key levers of strategic planning to fit today’s business environment:

From	To
Analysis and data driven	Foresight and Customer driven
Locked in	Flexible
Trickle-down	Rapid delivery
Silo-focused	Shared accountability
Executive responsibility	Employee engagement
Powerpoint presentations	Leader-led communications
Long term	Integrated short and long term
Implementation an after-thought	Implementation built in
Competing priorities	Linked priorities
Little time spent on governance	Robust monthly governance

A few years ago BT Design was struggling with the implementation of a new software development strategy to deliver faster on customer requirements and to better serve the market-facing BT organizations with cost effective applications. Previous attempts to reorganize 18,000 people and implement modern “Agile” software development tools had met with management confusion and employee resistance. The strategy was sound but the implementation was creating an even greater set of problems. By rethinking their approach, breaking down the silos at the top, linking all the various strategic initiatives with shared leadership accountabilities, and engaging all employees with leader-led communications and dialogue around a single “Plan on a Page”, the strategy was quickly implemented and service levels dramatically improved.

Thinking about how to improve your ability to develop strategies that are more attuned to today’s economic uncertainty and fast-paced competitive marketplace? Wanting to reduce the risk of poor implantation?

Talk with one of our partners. We’ve been there.