STRATEGIC PLANNING

Dec

2023

What Home Alone Taught Me About Leadership

Every year I get the opportunity to provide a leadership training program to a group of individuals who serve municipalities. One of their recent assignments was to watch a movie and report what they learned about strategic planning. One member watched Home Alone.

Since it is the Holiday season, I took time to watch Home Alone with some of my family. While watching the movie I saw some principles we can apply when it comes to our strategic planning. As you close out this year and head into a new one, I hope one or all of these are helpful to you.

Identify Problems

For those of you not familiar with the movie, the youngest boy in the family gets left home alone when the family flies to Paris for Christmas. At one point in the movie, he realizes there are burglars attempting to break into his home. He has held them off for a while, but learns they will be coming back on Christmas Eve at 9:00 PM. Kevin had a problem and he had to figure out what to do.

Within your organization, you may perform a SWOT analysis or some less formal way to evaluate the state of the organization and potential problems on the horizon. If you don’t, this is a great way to be proactive instead of reactive in how you lead your business.

Determine Your Plan

Once he identified the problem – they were coming at 9:00 PM he developed a plan. Kevin realized there were multiple possible entry points to the home, and he created obstacles for entry. Not only that, but he had a plan on how to get the police to arrive.

After you have identified threats and weaknesses, which are where problems are visible, create a plan. Take time to evaluate options, select the best one, and then implement that option. The critical step after you have determined a plan is to implement and adjust as needed.

Use Your Resources

Kevin was home alone, but he was resourceful. He used ornaments, paint gallons, tar, nails, shingles, a blow torch, and more to help implement his plan. He couldn’t run to the store and load up on ammunition or build a huge blockade. He used what he had at his disposal and moved ahead.

“We don’t have the resources” you may think as you look at your plan. That is okay. What can you do with what you have? This is the stage where you can tap into the creativity of your team. What can you do to move into action to take a step closer to your goal?

Accept Help

Even the best-laid plans don’t always work out. Kevin didn’t, as the burglars figured out what one of his final moves was and caught him. With fear in his eyes and his life at risk, help came from an unexpected place . . . I won’t tell you where in case you haven’t seen the movie.

We can create the greatest plan in the world and start moving forward, but eventually we will hit a roadblock. When that time comes, we need to have the humility to ask for help either from other members of our team or outside the organization. As we all know from 2020, unexpected and uncontrollable situations arise. In those moments we will need help and have to embrace it.

As you look at your organization or team which of these do you need to improve on for the upcoming year? Need help thinking into your strategic plan or need help developing the leadership, communication, or teamwork of those on your team? Contact me and let’s discover ways I may be able to assist you. In the meantime, build your plan, implement your plan, adjust your plan, and keep moving forward. Lead well.

Oct

2023

Developing Your Strategy

You’ve heard the old adage, “failing to plan is planning to fail,” and when it comes to business, this could not be more true. Strategic planning is an essential part of success in any business endeavor. But what exactly is strategic planning? In the simplest terms, it is the process of creating a long-term plan for the future of an organization. It involves setting goals, determining objectives, and developing strategies to reach them.

I’ve had the opportunity to help some business leaders think into their strategic plans. Since this is the time of year some organizations start thinking into their plans for the upcoming year I thought I’d provide a fundamental structure as you approach your strategic planning whether that is now or closer to the end of the year.

Vision

The first step in any successful strategic planning process is to create a clear vision of the future. This is painting the picture of where you want to be within a specific time period. It provides a singular direction for the organization. For example, do you have a vision to reach a new group of people with your product or service?

The vision should be informed and align with your mission (why you do what you do or your purpose) and your values. Values help determine if this aligns with what is important for the organization. Without a clear vision, the organization will wander aimlessly and never reach its full potential.

Strategies

Once a vision has been established, the next step is to create strategies to reach the objectives set by the vision. I have helped organizations with this process as we discover what are the internal strengths and weaknesses and the external threats and opportunities. The team evaluates and determines what actions they need to take based on this analysis. This process can be done in-house or with the help of a consultant, depending on the scale of the organization, the complexity of the plan, and the makeup of the team.

Action

“Execution is a specific set of behaviors and techniques that companies need to master in order to have competitive advantage.” Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan

Now that you have clarity of the situation your organization is in, what will you do? This is where specific strategies for implementation are developed. This plan should include the tasks required to achieve the objectives, the resources needed, and the timeline for completion. Track and update the plan regularly to ensure progress is being made.

Scoreboard

Finally, the organization must have a system to measure and monitor progress. This could include benchmarking, surveys, or other methods to assess how well the organization meets its objectives. This will help to identify areas that need improvement and provide feedback for further adjustments to the plan.

Strategic planning is an essential part of any successful business. By having a clear vision, developing strategies, creating an implementation plan, and measuring progress, you can ensure the longevity and success of your organization. As you look at these areas, which do you need to focus on? Do you need help thinking into your strategic plan? Contact me to discover how a facilitated strategic planning session can help you and your leadership team. Lead Well.