Wow, what a year!

2009 has come and gone, and many of us are taking a huge sigh of relief. Going through one of the worst recessions in U.S. history will certainly take the wind out of your sails. But we appear to have weathered the worst of the storm. And while the economy might not rebound with the speed and vigor we would like, it at least appears to be heading in the right direction again.

So what did we learn from the trials and tribulations of the past year? And how can we apply those lessons going forward? Here are 10 things I believe that leaders need to do differently to position their businesses for success in 2010.

1. Get used to the likelihood there will be no normal anymore. The old business world that most of us knew and loved went away with the recession, and it’s not coming back. To adapt to today’s business realities, question all your beliefs and assumptions, get comfortable with uncertainty, and adjust your expectations. For most, the new ‘normal’ will be slow and sustained growth rather than a hockey-stick curve and it will continue to surprise us.
2. Break the rules. If you’re not breaking rules on a regular basis, your customers and markets have probably already left you behind. The new rule for today’s chaotic markets is to constantly challenge the status quo. Don’t automatically assume that what made you successful in the past will continue to make you successful in the future.
3. Recognize and minimize your “MSUs.” We all constantly MSU (make stuff up) about our company, industry, and markets. During the strategic planning process, put everyone’s beliefs and assumptions out on the table and ask, “What do we think we know to be absolutely true about our customers, competitors and markets? Is it still true? If not, what has changed and how do we need to respond to that change?” Get data and question your long standing beliefs constantly.
4. Embrace social media. Embracing social media can be a real competitive advantage. In addition to instantly connecting you with customers, social media enables you to “mindshare” with industry peers, demonstrate thought leadership, recruit talent and more. Study the social media habits of your customers, and use the appropriate tools to make them part of your community.
5. Expect more transparency. With the advent of social media, you can no longer control public perception by limiting information about your company and products. When you withhold information, today’s bloggers, twitterers and forum posters will make it up for you. The next generation of market leaders will excel at using social media to create transparency and build trust with their key stakeholders.
6. Communicate to fill the void. Today’s employees are beset with doubts, uncertainties and fears about their jobs. If you don’t tell them what is going on, they will fill the void with rumors and misinformation, usually negative. Constantly let employees know where the organization is going and what your plan for winning is. In today’s world, you can’t over-communicate.
7. Encourage strategic thinking. Strategic planning involves a formal process whereby senior management peers into the future and charts a course of action for the organization. Strategic thinking occurs when the entire organization begins to act in concert with the strategic plan. Teach your people to anticipate opportunities and threats while managing the day-to-day tasks that fall within their scope of responsibilities.
8. Make innovation a way of life. Innovation needs to become an integral part of the way you do business, not just a one-time event. Constantly challenge the way you do things, even when they have always worked well. Strive to create new products, services and ideas that have real value for stakeholders. Look for different and novel ways to deal with ongoing challenges. Constantly seek to implement new and better ways of achieving results.
9. Slow down to go fast. In times of uncertainty, prepare to pause, focus, and plan. Learn to anticipate the unanticipated by making scenario planning part of your daily routine rather than an afterthought when plans don’t pan out. Take the time to consider multiple perspectives and engage others who have diverse views. This may feel like slowing down, but will actually help you get where you want to go much faster.
10. Get back to basics. When everything around you diverts you into complexity, get back to basics. Make strategic planning a way of life in your organization. Use a strategic planning framework to drive what you do and where you focus your energies. Constantly check for internal and external forces that may impact where you’re going, what you need to do and how you need to do it. Organize your day around achieving your destination, and focus on informing, inspiring and engaging others in getting there.

Those are my top 10 tips for success in 2010. I’d love to hear what you plan to do differently going forward.

Here’s wishing you clarity, focus, and great success in the New Year!

Imagine if Hogwarts, the mythical school of magic and sorcery in the Harry Potter books, taught strategic planning.

You could use enchanted mirrors to gaze into the future with unerring accuracy. You could conjure up potions for warding off evil competitors, recite charms for turning lousy products into perennial moneymakers, and chant incantations for rendering customers intensely loyal under your spell. Most important, you could learn how to wield the magic wand that makes all your business goals and aspirations come true.

Sound crazy?

We all know that magic wands only work in fairy tales and Hollywood movies. But you would be amazed at how many organizations subscribe to what I call the “And then a miracle happens…” approach to strategic planning.

With this approach, management invests a great deal of time and energy in identifying the destination (where the company needs to go), but puts almost no effort into determining how the company will get there. Instead, they believe that someone will wave their magic wand and the organization will suddenly get to where it wants to go.

In all my years of helping companies craft strategic plans, I have seen a lot of misguided thinking about the strategic planning process. But perhaps the most common fallacy is believing that just because you state a goal it will magically happen. Maybe at Hogwarts, but not in the real world!

Without question, creating a strategic plan takes hard work. But it represents only half the battle. To achieve the results laid out by the plan, you must also figure out how you will get there, which requires breaking down the process of reaching your destination into manageable steps. To facilitate this process, I recommend dividing the journey into three distinct phases: incremental, substantial, and transformational.

Start by comparing your destination to your current reality, noting any gaps between the two. Then identify what you will do incrementally different to achieve your goals. Over the next six months, what needs to happen in order to make progress toward your destination? What operating goals and strategies can you achieve in that time frame? What capabilities must be in place to support getting there?

During this phase, take into account how much change your organization can absorb without getting off track. Pay close attention to what it will take to increase the skills, knowledge, and competency levels to reach your destination. And if new systems and processes need to be created, how long will it take to implement them?

Next, identify what you will do substantially different to move closer to your goal. In other words, what needs to happen after the first six months and prior to your first 18 months of progress? Again, look at the operating goals and strategies you can achieve during this time frame, and what new skills, resources, capabilities, systems or processes will be required to achieve them.

Finally, identify what you will do that begins to achieve the type of transformational goals you set during the initial strategic planning process. What will happen after the first 18 months of progress? What operating goals and strategies can you achieve in that time frame? What capabilities must be in place to support getting there? Keep in mind that a lot may have happened since you first embarked on your journey. So make sure to build as much flexibility into this phase of the plan as possible.

In today’s chaotic markets, nothing is more critical than figuring out where you need to go as an organization. Once you do, put away your magic wand and invest the time in creating your incremental, substantial, and transformational action plans. These will ensure that all your hard work during the initial planning phase doesn’t go to waste.

Magic may rule supreme at Hogwarts. But in the real world, hard work, discipline, focus, and manageable action steps win every time.

Creating Your Destination Statement: How to Get From Here to Where You Want to Go

When Roger Bannister was attempting to become the first athlete to break the four-minute mile, all the “experts” told him it was impossible. Some even suggested he risked death by pushing his body beyond human limits. Of course, we now know that not only did Bannister not die, but the week after he broke the barrier, another runner followed in his footsteps, followed shortly thereafter by several more.

Clearly, the sub-four minute mile wasn’t impossible; someone just had to envision doing it. When asked how he accomplished the feat, Bannister replied, “Physiologically impossible or not, I just saw myself doing it.” To this day, many Olympic athletes use this type of success visioning to achieve their goals. The difference in skill levels at premier levels is often not discernible. What is different is the mindset, the clarity of vision on what winning looks like.

Leaders and managers don’t often employ this approach in strategic planning or even in simple delegation today. Most of us are running so fast, we don’t take the time to get clear on winning, we just run and hope we are on the right track, running the right race. But organizations are now beginning to understand what world-class athletes have long known – if you can picture the destination and get clear on what winning looks like, your chances of getting there dramatically increase.

One tool for painting a vivid picture of where your organization needs to go is destination modeling. Designed to create powerful visions in the mind of each and every employee, destination statements provide cohesion, direction and behavioral guidance. They tell people what you are doing, what you are not doing, and what you will be doing when you get to where you want to go.

Some companies develop one over-arching destination statement for the entire company. I find it more useful to develop a number of statements, or destination points, for each critical area of the organization. In fact, I often use these statements as a starting point when working with clients.

Examples of destination statement categories include:

• Key operating achievements (the big three or four).
• How the workplace culture will be, including attitudes, beliefs, values and operating principles.
• What skills, knowledge and abilities will exist in the organization? In each business unit?
• What organizational structures will be in place, company-wide and at each business unit?
• What work processes and metrics will be used?
• What tools, systems and technologies will be necessary, both internally and externally?
• What products will be in the market? What products will be in development?
• Who will our customers be? How many will we have?
• Who will our competitors be? What type of companies will we compete against?
• What will be our greatest competitive advantage? Our biggest threat?
• How will we be known?
• What will our brand represent?

Remember, your goal as a leader or manager is to paint as vivid and rich a ‘picture’ of success or winning as you possibly can. To create your company’s destination points, draw a vertical line down the middle of a sheet of paper. On the left side, put all the categories listed above and any others you come up with. On the right side, describe for each category what it will look like when you get to where you want to go.

A few short years or even months ago, companies frequently looked out five and even 10 years into the future. In today’s fast-paced world, three years makes more sense. Recently, all of my clients are doing one year destination modeling and plans. The rate of change today is so great that anything beyond that and you are likely just wildly guessing as to what is possible.

Once you have identified your destination points, measure each one against the following criteria:

• Consistency. Is it consistent with the mission statement (the why you exist)?
• Clarity. Is it easy to understand? Is it easy to tell what is in and what is out? Does it tell you what you need to do (directionally)?
• Specific. Does it provide enough details to initiate a level of measurement? Does it paint a picture employees can relate to and a place they can envision?
• Flexible. Is it flexible enough to include evolving business needs?
• Pride. Does it make you feel proud to be part of the effort?
• Inspiration. Does it compel you to want to go there?

Once you have clarity on your destination points, repeat the process (using the same categories) to define your current state. This will identify any gaps that need to be addressed and enable you to plan appropriate action steps and time frames. Always start with the end state and then compare to current reality. When you work from the end state backwards, the likelihood of you getting there increases exponentially.

To get the best of what your employees have to offer, it is essential to make sure that your organization’s future is more compelling than the past. Picturing your destination and describing it in vivid language will make it easier and much more likely your organization will achieve its goals and break its own four-minute mile.