June 2004

The Art and Science of Great Planning
By Jan Richards, J. G. Richards Consulting

A plan is only as good as the results you produce when you use it—really use it. What’s the difference between a plan that works and one that doesn’t? A great, living plan is a powerful aligning force for an organization. It creates clear focus, priorities, guidance for coordinated action, and effective communication. A plan that stands the test of time is tactical and adaptable, but first, it’s strategic.

strat-e-gy n
1. the science or art of planning and conducting a war or a military campaign
2. a carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal, or the art of developing or carrying out such a plan
3. in evolutionary theory, a behavior, structure, or other adaptation that involves viability

A common thread in these definitions is that strategy involves both art (synthesis, sensitivity, creativity, even playfulness) and science (facts, data, measures, trends, hypotheses). To create a strategic plan that stands the test of time, follow these basic steps:

• Create and communicate a shared vision of the desired future
• Review—and understand—how things are working now
• Create a plan to close the gap between what you want and what you have
• Communicate and begin to implement the plan
• Actively use clear indicators for the actions that drive results
• Pause regularly to review, reflect, refresh; then carry on

Create and Communicate a Shared Vision of the Desired Future
A strategic vision is a compelling, accessible representation of the future that people in the organization are committed to creating together. It’s a selection of the most compelling destination based on a clear-eyed view of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

• Document the vision, so you can use it again many times in many ways. You can record the vision through a written scenario, a drawing, or other graphics (or even through music, if your team will sing along).
• Make sure you articulate the vision in a way that engages the full group. I once assisted a manager who was a tennis player, but no one else in his group played tennis. Instead, they all loved Star Wars. He tried to force tennis on them and you can guess what happened. It didn’t fly. They worked their way out of the impasse by selecting a new metaphor that worked for everyone—manager and team.

Review—and Understand—How Things Are Working Now

• Start by looking honestly at the successes and failures of the prior year
• Evaluate customer feedback to identify how well you’re meeting quality, cost, timeliness, and other customer requirements
• Assess the health of the most critical paths of action in your company—the primary processes you use to create the products and services you provide customers
• Gather and evaluate what you know about competitors and the market
• Complete and record your findings in a manner that works well at your company—this can occur in an informal discussion or in a more structured format

Create a Plan to Close the Gap Between What You Want and What You Have
As a group, focus on one or two large goals a year. Agree on the actions you believe will close the gap. Then assign resources to these actions, beginning with the people on your team. When doing this, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the best way to structure the assignments so that you produce the strongest results as well as the best growth experience for the people involved?
• How should you allocate financial and other resources so they’re put to the best use?

Once you’ve made these critical decisions, translate the plan into specific actions, deadlines, accountabilities, and metrics that clearly communicate expectations. Then record these agreements in a format that makes it easy to communicate, monitor, follow up, and adapt as you move forward. Finally, design the implementation and follow-up tools and meetings so they’ll work well at your company, looking at past successes as well as new ideas that worked well for others.

Communicate and Begin to Implement the Plan

• Hold a series of meetings to communicate and discuss the plan in a cascading fashion, working through each level of the company. Let employees know how their work and performance support the plan and how they can get more information, if needed.
• Make sure your follow-up processes are clear, so everyone knows how you'll track action, when, and how frequently.
• Inform the team how you’ll adapt the plan to meet the challenges you face, once action has started. Communicate primary contingency plans and how you'll handle them.
• Schedule regular follow-up meetings well ahead of time, and spell out the desired format and criteria for progress reviews. This enables people to focus on action and reduces the amount of time necessary for good follow-up and reporting.

Actively Use Clear Indicators for the Actions that Drive Results
Use visual tools—such as charts showing work status or the quality of work produced compared to customer requirements—in the workplace whenever you can. They provide critical information quickly and easily and give people increased control over their own work. Information that’s easy to understand and highly accessible empowers employees to select the daily actions that support the plan. Visual indicators also enable them to recognize when they should spend more time solving problems that won’t go away or are impeding the flow or quality of the products and services they are producing. The earlier they make these corrections, the less costly they are in many ways.

Pause Regularly to Review, Reflect, Refresh; Then Carry On
As a team, follow up when and as you said you would. Many companies supplement regular, quick update meetings with more extensive progress reviews once a month or quarter.

During these longer assessments, revisit the vision and review your progress compared to the plan. If all’s going well, the meeting goes quickly. If something isn’t progressing as planned, this provides an opportunity for the team to identify the challenge, to understand how it affects everyone, and to problem solve together. They may also realize they need to find more time, a different group, or additional resources to address the problem. You should also set aside time to reflect on what’s going well and if your team can improve how they work together. Are communications clear, timely, and well managed? Does the team need encouragement or a celebration? A well-designed “review, renew, recharge” process keeps many teams focused and moving forward and makes plans really come alive.

Jan Richards (J. G. Richards Consulting) helps Bay Area companies clarify their vision, goals, and priorities and implement strong and effective process management, enabling them to increase revenues and decrease costs. She’s consulted for over 10 years with clients in the high-tech, financial services, biotech, and Internet arenas.