Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Up-Front Clarity Helps Overcome Challenges in Strategic Planning

No matter which sector you are in, your people care about strategic planning --- equally. Different organizations in different sub-sectors have difficult cultures that influence the processes differently, yet one doesn't feel it necessarily more than another. When I hear organizational leaders who hit a challenge in the process start talking about how perhaps their group cares more or lives it more or some other aspect about how they are so much more complex or involved than what another group/sector must be, it speaks more to an inability to work through challenging points in the process or challenging dynamics within the organization. It also prompts delay and erodes commitment. One way to promote the process through those challenges is to garner greater clarity up front among those involved and those affected about the strategic planning process, including what strategic planning is, how they fit into the process and what they can expect to come out of it. A primer from the leaders, supported by the contracted consultant, before activities begin can go a long way to providing touch points that move everyone toward the commonly accepted outcome.
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