Strategy, Strategy...Who has the Strategy?
Has this thought ever occurred to you? Have you had discussions in your organization about “What ever happened to the strategy that we completed 3 years ago?” Or “Do you know where we stand with our strategy? Have we made any progress?”
90% of employees don’t know the strategy for their organization
Is your strategy a secret?
Let me give you an example of the impact of a secret strategy. I remember discussing a situation where a colleague was working in the Project Management Office (PMO) for an organization. Part of their role was to align resources (people and budgets) to the strategic priorities of the organization. Yet after an annual off-site strategy session, the leadership team never shared the strategy with the organization. Needless to say, several months later the PMO was still unable to effectively align resources with the strategic priorities. So, the PMO was unable to fulfill one of their key responsibilities and the organization, probably, never met their goals for the upcoming year(s). This can be fixed!
I read an article recently that included the idea that many organizations complete the strategy as a means to check off a required task – for the board of directors, lenders, partners – but it’s never actually implemented. This can be fixed too!
The focus of my strategy practice is to work with small businesses to help them understand the value of a well-formed strategic plan. I enjoy working with the leadership team in identifying various strategic goals that will help the organization not only continue to meet the mission but also help to drive the organization that much closer to the defined vision. The big question that always arises is: How? How are we going to make this happen? How are we going to achieve these goals? How are we going to get there?
My answer is always the same: Let’s ask the employees.
The employees have the experience and expertise in a variety of skills, products, services, and companies that can help define a path to achieve those goals. They have the ideas and innovative energy to identify new and compelling ways to help achieve those strategic goals. As an example, instead of having 6-10 leaders sitting around a table trying to figure out how the strategy can come to fruition, can you imagine the impact and the power of asking 250 employees? Keep in mind that everyone has ideas, but some people may not want to share those ideas and that’s fine. But why not give them the opportunity to contribute to the organizational plan?
Clearly, getting input from ~250 people on how to successfully meet your strategic goals is a huge benefit for the leadership team. And what about the employees? Can you imagine the positive impact of asking employees for their ideas and then incorporating some of their contributions into the final plan? As an employee, I would really respect a company that asks for our opinion, and actually incorporates some of our ideas into the final strategic plan. And, let’s face it…you now have my commitment to help the organization attain those goals.
A strategic plan is not developed for the leadership team. It’s developed for the organization. That being said, make an effort to include the entire organization in the development, design and delivery of that strategy.
If you need help getting that discussion started…I’ve got you covered with ideas on how to begin those discussions.