A chef needs a recipe.
A pilot needs a flight plan.
A student needs a syllabus.
A builder needs a blueprint.
A traveler needs a map.
A leader needs a…..strategic plan?
Maybe you started 2023 with bright eyes, excited for what the year would bring, only to find yourself mid-year and not even close to what you set out to do. Most leaders have strategic plans because they have to.
More often than not, the strategic planning process becomes a run-of-the-mill exercise that feels good to finish, but is worthless when it comes to:
- Advancing team and organizational performance;
- Adapting to ever-accelerating change, and;
- Fostering the culture you need.
The reality is: the entire strategic planning process is completely f$%&ed.
While the reasons vary, here are the 7 highly flammable mistakes that will cause your strategic planning process to become a dumpster fire.
1. The strategic planning process is a check-the-box exercise…on repeat
The rinse and repeat, robotic, same year-after-year process stifles creativity and leaves people feeling less than inspired. You know the rhythm:
- November rolls around and the plan is created by a select few
- The plan is shared in January at the company retreat and everyone gets excited
- It’s forgotten about until July when it’s time to check-in
- Just like that, it's November again…and the pattern repeats.
2. The plan lacks heart and soul.
lf you bought a strategic plan template online for $49 and retro-fitted it to your business or decided to dust off last year’s plan and repurpose, chances are the plan lacks heart and soul.
At least you have a plan, but your team will have a heartless and soulless connection to it which means when you fall short on goals, the reaction will be more of indifference than care.
3. It was built in isolation.
It’s never a good idea to hole up and build out something without the input from key people in the organization. When you aren’t inclusive, people lack attachment to it and therefore won’t “own it.”
4. The “how” is missing
Goals and outcomes don’t count as strategy. Knowing what you need to achieve is a start…but it’s how you’re going to achieve those goals that’s most important.
For example, saying, “we’re going to double revenue” with no plan of how you’re going to do that is not only…not a strategy, but could lead you to wasting time targeting all of the wrong prospects, or hiring a salesperson who's not a fit for what you need.
If the how is still a question mark, then you have more work to do. Clarity drives alignment which drives action. And according to Gallup, only 22% of employees feel that their leaders have a clear direction for the organization. Ouch.
5. The CEO has new shiny penny syndrome.
What makes entrepreneurs and CEOs great is that they pursue the answer, the hack, and are always thinking about what’s next. This also means that they can be the biggest terrorist when it comes to sticking to a plan. While the plan needs to be flexible and built in a way that can be adjusted when necessary, changing it every 3 weeks isn’t healthy. In fact - this is super disorienting to teams, can drive misalignment, and creates unnecessary chaos.
6. No one “owns it."
In Shift the Work, I talked about the concept of know→ own → and drive. It’s about people knowing what they need to know, so that they own it, and ultimately they can drive it. If you’ve rolled out the plan and the team “knows it”, but no one is “owning it”, it could be because they:
- don’t see how they fit into the plan.
- aren’t sure what “owning it” means.
- disagree with the plan or are uninspired by it.
- are fatigued with plans because in the past you haven’t stuck to them or followed through.
- no one is responsible for the plan therefore it just disappears.
7. The strategy execution gap is as wide as the Grand Canyon.
67% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution. (HBR) There’s a gigantic gap between having a plan and executing on said plan. So what's causing it? Here are the main culprits:
- Poor communication
- Not coordinating across units /departments
- Lack of leadership and buy-in and/or leaders undermining the strategy agreed upon
- A lack of skills to implement a plan successfully
- Using the wrong measures
- There’s no way to monitor the performance against the plan
- There’s a strong resistance to change
If you can avoid the top 7 and add these 3 bonus tips ⬇️ you’ll be moving in the right direction as you look to 2024.
✅You cannot solve problems by looking through the veil of illusion: This means that you need to be real about where you are. CEOs and entrepreneurs tend to be optimists (that’s how you got started!), and sometimes that means that you inflate the truth a tad bit or have blindspots and overlook the real problems. This is common and normal - but in doing so, you’ll pay the price by spending time on the wrong things and/or eroding trust with your team.
✅Make it mean something: In a best case scenario, you’re using your plan to say yes or no to new ideas, are allowing it to guide your actions, and are reviewing it at least quarterly. Here are some good questions to ask yourself:
- How are we tracking against what we’ve set out to accomplish?
- What were the highlights and what were the short falls?
- What were the assumptions made and which ones were flawed from the get-go?
- Why haven’t we adjusted? In what ways can we adjust?
- How committed was I as a leader to the purposeful execution of the plan?
- What are we going to do differently to get better?
✅Rally your team and create champions: John Maxwell said, “a leader with no followers is just going for a walk.”
Your people want to feel like they’re a part of something special, that they belong, and there’s something worth fighting for.
They need a voice and a vote. They should not only be clear on the north star and values, but they should make their hearts beat faster. Watch your believers emerge and allow them to lead with you.
Make it personal, have a blast doing it, measure the milestones, and celebrate the learnings.
If you’re in the throes of strategic planning and know that it could be easier or way more enjoyable, we have three options for strategic planning programs that are sure to get you in the perfect shape.
Can you imagine getting to October completely clear for 2024 and stress free? As Neville Goddard says, "Imagination and faith are the secrets of creation."
