Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Five

 

The incredible rule number five is that you must face the brutal facts confronting your company. This is a command, if you will, given to us by Jim Collins in Good to Great. It means honestly facing the issues that challenge your organization, determining solutions, and implementing them in an intelligent way.

 

Your planning team can do this by defining critical issues facing the growth of the company both now and in the future. Let’s say you’re a training company that utilizes technology. Some of the questions you ask your planning team might be:

1. How is the organization going to transition from our old CD-ROM technology to the new “streaming” technology? How are we going to fund this transition?
2. What new products are we bringing out in the next year?
3. How are we going to grow 20 percent per year for the next three years?
4. What improvements do we need to make for us to reduce costs by 10 percent?

Typically, these types of critical issues are addressed by writing a white paper.

 

“What is that?” you ask.

 

“Good question!” I respond.

 

A white paper is a three- to five-page paper that addresses the critical issue. Sometimes a white paper will take on a number of critical issues that are similar in nature. For instance, the white paper “What is Our 2012 Sales and Marketing Plan?” might address the issues of (a) what new products are being introduced next year and (b) how to grow by 20 percent. However, it would not explore the question of what improvements need to be made in the plant to reduce costs by 10 percent. This issue would need a white paper of its own.

 

White papers are written between planning sessions by the members of the leadership group who are best suited to address the problem. This group can also include members outside the planning team who have useful knowledge to contribute.

 

The paper outlines research and analysis for the issues and provides the “answer” submitted by the smaller group to the entire planning team. The entire planning team will read the paper prior to the second session; everyone is invited to bring feedback, questions, and concerns. In the second session, the critical issues are dealt with and problem solving can occur.

 

For more information about writing white papers click here.

 

 

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Two

The second golden rule of planning is to make sure the design of the planning is one that will yield a good result. I am not a believer in leadership teams locking themselves in a room at a resort for two or three days. This type of planning may be sprinkled with some golfing, gambling, or other “fun stuff.” From this design, a strategic plan is supposedly born and created.

The problem with this design is that it curtails critical thinking. This process begins to smell of Plan-In-Binder Syndrome, which is exactly what it sounds like: the leadership group ends up developing a “plan” that then ends up securely contained in a nice plastic binder that is then lost and forgotten. These binders tend to become nestled in the executive bookcases. After the year begins and the fires start raging, no one looks at the plan. Poke me in the eye with a hot stick; Plan-In-Binder Syndrome is such a waste of time and resources. In addition, if you do all your planning during one session, you risk just doing more of what you are currently doing. There is no opportunity for research or involving other employees within the organization who are not at the planning session. I find that these plans run the risk of superficiality and being UN-implementable. Is that a word?

Here is what to do. The process should take place over two to three months and take three to four days. It is predicated on white papers and dialogue. Listening and understanding are critical. Better research ensures better debate and thinking. “What is a white paper?” you ask hysterically. “Hang tough,” I say. That is covered in rule five.

For more information on designing your strategic planning process click here.

Planning: The 4th Cornerstone of Performance Oriented Cultures

Strategic planning creates the platform for a healthy company.

Strategic planning is a critical part of growing a successful business. A high performance work culture needs a system that makes sure that employee goals are aligned and everyone is focused on the right stuff.

The fact is that many small- to mid-sized companies do not have a structured process from which to conduct strategic planning. This is like many adults who do not exercise, despite knowing it’s good for them. Perfect health isn’t guaranteed by regular exercise, but the likelihood of attaining good health is dramatically increased. Strategic breakthrough business guessing/planning works for businesses in much the same way as exercise works for the individual.

The process should take place over two to three months and take three to four days. It is predicated on white papers and dialogue. Listening and understanding are critical. Better research ensures better debate and thinking. “What is a white paper?” you ask hysterically.

A white paper is a three- to five-page paper that addresses the critical issue. The paper should deal directly with the issues. It is, with research and analysis, the “answer” submitted by the smaller group to the entire planning team.

Once you have created the plan, you need to make sure it is acted upon. Monthly meetings of one to three hours and spending time on objectives and action plans will ensure focus. Then, once a quarter, the planning team should meet offsite, preferably with a coaching resource like yours truly. (Bonus points if the coach is bald-headed. It makes the coach smarter and buffer—really.) At the session, the group will look at what happened in the quarter and then focus on what needs to happen in the next quarter. This will keep everyone aligned on what needs to take place to push the company forward.

For more information about CMI's Business Planning Process click here.

The fifth rule of planning

The incredible rule number five is facing the brutal facts that confront your company. This is a distinction that is given to us by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great. It means honestly confront the issues that confront your organization and truly dealing with them. Do not deny them or sugar coat them. Deal with them in an intelligent way.

Your planning team can do this by defining critical issues facing the growth of the company. These are issues that will be, or presently are, confronting the company.

“Examples puleeeees!” you demand. Coming right up.

• How is the organization going to transition from our old CD-ROM technology to the new “streaming” technology? How are we going to fund this transition?
• What new products are we bringing out in the next year?
• How are we going to grow 20% per year for the next three years? 
• What improvement do we need to make in the plant for us to reduce costs by 10%? 

Typically these types of critical issues are addressed through the writing of a white paper. “What is that?” you ask. “Good question!” I respond and if you had not brought it up I simply could not have continued to write this book, so thanks for the question.

A white paper is a three- to five-page paper that addresses the critical issue. It is written between planning sessions by the members of the leadership group that are best suited to address the problem. This group can also have members outside of the planning team who have useful knowledge and thinking to contribute .

The paper should deal directly with the issues. It is, with research and analysis, the “answer” submitted by the group. The entire planning team will read the paper prior to the subsequent session and then debate it during the session. Problem solving ensues. Everyone is invited to bring their feedback, questions and concerns to the next session. This is where the critical issues are dealt with and a direction is hammered out.

For more information about CMI visit our website: www.cmiteamwork.com

The Second Rule of Planning

The second golden rule of planning is to, “make sure the design of the planning is one that will get you a good result. I am not a believer of leadership teams locking themselves in a room at a resort for two to three days. This type of planning may be sprinkled with some golfing, gambling or other type of “fun” stuff. From this design, a strategic plan is supposedly born and created.

The problem with this design is that it curtails critical thinking. This process begins to smell of “plan in binder” syndrome. Poke me in the eye with a hot stick. If you do all your planning during one session you risk just doing more of what you are doing in the present. There is no opportunity for research or involving others within the organization who are not at the planning session.

Here is what to do. The process should take place over two to three months and take three to four days. It is predicated on white papers and dialogue. Listening and understanding are critical. Better research ensures better debate and thinking. “What is a white paper?” you ask hysterically. “Hang tough,” I say. That is covered in rule five.

For more information about CMI's planning process visit our website: www.cmiteamwork.com