Tag Archives: Strategic framework

It’s Not About the Plan

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Business Corporate Management Planning Team ConceptAt the risk of causing shudders among many a leader and consultant, I am not a big believer in strategic plans. In our organization, we use a strategic framework. That might sound like semantics to some, but I don’t see it that way and here is why: One dictates step-by-step actions (how), the other guides decision-making in a specific direction (where). And in today’s fluid, fast-changing environments, pre-ordained actions (how) may be rendered outdated, inappropriate or impossible before the ink is even dry on the plan — regardless of how long one spent creating it in the first place.

Dwight Eisenhower once noted that, “In preparing for battle, I have always found plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” I couldn’t agree more. I am a huge proponent of the strategic planning process, just not the definitive plans that often result. Why? Because over-reliance on a specific process can leave those charged with carrying it out unclear on how to proceed when things don’t go according to the plan . . . and things rarely go exactly according to the plan. (What is that saying . . . Man plans and God laughs?)

Is it critical to know the end goal? Absolutely. Is it helpful to have considered a range of possible scenarios? Yep. Is it important to understand the organization’s priorities? Most definitely. In my experience, however, organizations act their way forward rather than plan their way forward. Individuals within the organization make moment-by-moment decisions regarding the path, the actions, that have the greatest likelihood of moving the organization toward the clearly identified end goal. How can one know two years out, or sometimes even two months out, the best decision given a myriad of ever-changing external variables? And yet, if a specific set of expected actions is outlined in an approved multi-year strategic plan (presumably to which staff are being held accountable), how many people will follow the plan rather than exercising their good judgment?

It is not about the plan. It is about understanding what the organization is trying to accomplish, the assets it brings to the table, the barriers it is likely to encounter, and staff members who have both the context and competencies to make decisions that move the organization closer to its ultimate goal. Smart, well-informed leaders monitoring the situation and making adjustments in the moment will do far more to help an organization succeed than the best thinking from a year ago.

Strategic success is about preparation and priorities. It is not about the plan.

Frame It

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Colorful Paper Clip With Pile Of Paper Reports Arranged On Table

Think of the forests that would be standing today if not for weighty strategic plans — you know, those tomes that come from months of time consuming effort, the result of which is so thickly detailed that some poor soul is likely to strain a muscle lifting its numerous pages onto a shelf . . . where it will sit collecting dust until a few years down the road when the process starts all over again. Save the tree.

I absolutely believe that good strategy is critical for organizational success. I also happen to believe that most strategic plans are outdated before they ever hit said shelf (and they stay on the shelf for that very reason) because they are built around a specific set of variables that can change at the drop of a hat. So if strategy is critical, but strategic plans don’t work, what is a leader to do? Frame it.

A strategic framework identifies a few (like two or three) main areas of focus and a small number of indicators of success. That’s it. It identifies what you are working toward, and how you will know when you get there, but does not define (plan) the how. That happens along the way. Yes, I realize a number of readers who really like black and white details just started twitching. Hang with me . . .

A strategic framework applies the concept of emergent strategy, where ongoing observation, reflection and feedback enable leaders to adapt their actions as needed in response to changing variables to most effectively reach the intended goal. Re-read that sentence. You’ve got to admit, it really does make a lot of sense. Things are going to change on the way to your vision, so why would you want to put huge amounts of time into developing a plan that acts like they won’t?

In addition, the brevity of a strategic framework allows for much greater clarity of focus. How much easier is it for your staff to remember two key areas of focus than it is to remember a 47 point plan? How much more powerful is a targeted one page document than a ream of objectives, tactics and additional sub-points. Which do you think is going to excite your staff, and make them want to get on board with where you’re going?

Don’t be fooled. A boiled down, targeted framework takes effort to develop. Clarity of focus, simply stated, takes discipline, it is hard to achieve . . . It is also powerful, and motivating, and provides the direction staff need to continually adapt to a volatile environment and still reach the end goal.

The strategy is simple. Ditch the plan, save a tree, identify your destination . . . And frame it.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

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Changes Sign

I shake my head a bit when I hear leaders discussing, at times almost frantically, the unprecedented change our industry is being faced with, and how it is jeopardizing the well-being of those they serve.  I shake my head not because the topic is not important — it is — but because we have been having the same basic discussion for virtually my entire professional career and yet we continue to appear blindsided by it.

Over the years the specific topics and buzzwords have changed, but the plot line of  “THEY” (referral/funding sources, oversight bodies, customers, legislators . . .) have  (changed the rules of engagement, made a short-sighted decision that will never work, dismantled a critical safety net . . .) and now (those we serve are going to pay the price, our organization’s survival is threatened, our industry is fundamentally altered . . .) has remained the same.

Change is a constant. Do we always like it? Of course not. Does it make our life more difficult? Often times it does, at least in the short term. But if we know it is going to happen, why not prepare for it rather than be caught off guard and then have to scramble at the last minute? Peter Goldberg, former President/CEO of the Alliance for Children and Families used to talk about the need to “look around two corners.” Is it always clear what we are going to encounter down the road? No . . . but there are usually plenty of clues as to what is coming if we’re paying attention.  It’s sort of like those “overnight successes” who have been working at it for 20 years. There are usually lots of indicators of impending change if we keep our eyes open and look for them.

Of course, seeing the need for change and actually pulling it off can be two very different things. The status quo is easier. It is less stressful when you know the rules and have a clear path to follow.  Many staff will push back against change, especially during the gray stages of change when the details haven’t been worked out — in most cases not because they want to be difficult, but because they are committed to doing a good job, and they don’t know how to do that with a moving target.

So how do you maintain organizational stability and still lead strategically in an ever-changing environment? From my perspective, you build the foundation on what doesn’t change — your mission/vision/values, in our case our SMaC Recipe, and our strategic framework. These things anchor our staff and guide their actions.  With that solid foundation in place, you make change related to all the other stuff the norm. In our organization, things are changing all the time — whether as a result of a performance improvement initiative, because of trends we see coming down the pike, or in response to feedback from those who turn to us for care. When you do something on a regular basis, it becomes less scary and sooner or later actually becomes part of the organizational culture.

Perspective makes all the difference in the world. Our staff knows they will make it through the ambiguity that comes with change because they’ve done it . . . a lot. There is a level of confidence that, even if we don’t know all the answers today, we’ll figure it out.  And that confidence allows us (most of the time) to ride the wave of change rather than having it crash down on top of us.

Change it here to stay. Embrace it, and you can be too!

Kill the Big Hairy Beast . . .

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Bigfoot. . . You know, those 47-page strategic plans that organizations spend six-months developing and then promptly place on a shelf to collect dust until a year from now when someone suggests maybe we should see if we are accomplishing any of those things we thought were so critical to our success. Kill them. They suck the energy out of those who put them together (with the exception of that one highly detailed person in Quality Assurance who is absolutely critical to your organization but certainly doesn’t represent the norm), and often times those who read them can’t remember the original goal by the time they get to the end of tactic number 53.

Let me be clear. I absolutely think a clearly communicated strategic framework is a fundamental component of good leadership, I just don’t think we do ourselves any favors when we make it so painfully complex. How can we expect our staff to think strategically about the daily opportunities that present themselves if they can’t remember the organization’s key strategic areas of focus?

Our organization’s strategic framework consists of four areas of focus with four goals under each area. That’s it. It fits on one page. And I’d be willing to bet money, or even chocolate, that every one of my senior leaders can tell you the four areas of focus without batting an eye. I’d like to be able to say that every one our staff members could too, but that might be stretching it a bit. Still, I bet you’d be amazed at how many of them could come pretty close. So what are they?

 Big Reach

Measure What Matters

Chaddock Pride

All Aboard

 For those of you who are sitting there smugly saying to yourself, “That’s just silly, I have no idea what those four things mean,” I would respond, “You don’t have to. Our staff do, our board does, and we’re the ones responsible for keeping this organization on the cutting edge.” We can look at a project and easily identify it as a Big Reach effort, or a more effective way to Measure What Matters. When it comes to organizational values or strategic direction, how are you going to know if you’re living them out if you don’t know what they are? And how are you going to remember what they are if it takes a 47-page document to explain them?

Another example. A number of years ago, we boldly claimed that we wanted our organization to be the Mayo Clinic of Trauma and Attachment. Our staff got fired up about that! They suddenly had a picture of where we were going and they wanted to help us get there. To this day, our staff knows that any new program idea needs to be presented through the lens of trauma and attachment. If they can’t do that, the answer is no. We gave them a strategic road map, rather than a strategic ball and chain, and their enthusiasm (and our success!) soared.

In today’s fast-paced environment no group of leaders, no matter how wise or prophetic, can sit in a room and determine exactly what an organization should be doing 36-months down the road. And if they try, their organization is likely to miss all the fun stuff that comes up along the way.  Our organization is making significant, exciting progress on the journey to being the Mayo Clinic of trauma and attachment; and, if we had tried to crystal ball what the path would look like when we first set that strategic destination, we would have totally missed the mark.

Kill the big hairy beast.

Less is more! But I have to warn you, (you knew there was a down side, right?!?) less is also harder. Less means saying no to things that you could do, and could probably do well. It means giving up on the dream of being all things to all people. Less means doing the hard work of distilling down to those few things that are most central to accomplishing your mission. Less can be a bit scary, because there is no flowery, fog-producing prose or 14-step process to hide behind.   Less is all those things. And it’s also energizing and inspiring and unifying and . . . (wait for it) . . . ultimately strategic.

Are you brave enough to banish the beast?

–Debbie Reed