In my last blog, I talked about the importance of communicating your strategic planning framework to employees at all levels of the organization. And not just once, but over and over again so that people never lose sight of the goals. I also noted that most employees prefer to hear this information directly from their boss or manager.

But face-to-face communication is not the only method for keeping people informed about where you are going and what you need to do to get there. Smart leaders use a variety of communication tools and methods to keep their most important messages top of mind with employees throughout the year.

Start by setting up a system to remind managers to discuss the goals and strategic planning framework elements with employees on a regular basis. Provide tools and templates managers and team leaders can use in monthly team meetings and in one-on-one conversations. This will take care of the face-to-face communication that employees want and need.

To complement this personal communication, develop some creative ways to keep information in front of everyone. For example:

• Include elements of the strategic planning framework in newsletters, e-mail messages, on your intranet, and within presentations used at team and company meetings.
• Look for things employees use on a daily basis and find ways to turn them into ongoing communication vehicles. Put your mission and values on notepads, paper cubes, and/or mouse pads.
• Develop table tent cards for the cafeteria tables, posters for public areas in the offices, and screen savers that list the company’s three most important strategic objectives.
• Use paycheck stuffers to remind employees of the goals and update them on progress made towards those goals.
• Post a blog on the company intranet that explains your view of the goals and why they are important. Also, use the intranet to highlight examples of people who have achieved significant progress toward the goals and/or performed in a way that “lives” the company’s values.
• Use Twitter to send daily or weekly “tweets” — short, concise reminders of what employees need to focus on or what winning looks like for your organization.

In addition to communicating with current employees on a consistent basis, make sure all new hires receive information about the strategic framework as part of their introduction to the company. For those components of your strategic framework that may change more frequently (such as operating metrics and significant initiatives), update all employees every time there is a change. In addition to what is changing, tell people why.

There is almost no limit to the simple things you can do to communicate the most important messages in the company. Change it up every month so that people don’t tune out your messages because they look like the “same old stuff” they always see. But just keep doing it!

I have yet to see an organization that over-communicates its goals. Instead we start running, and in our busy-ness forget that others aren’t privy to all we are exposed to. When a change becomes evident and employees have not been informed, they are much more likely to fill the void with negative information, which is typically far worse than the truth.

Pausing to communicate frequently will save hours attempting to correct the myths, half-truths, and inaccurate information that spring up when you don’t communicate enough. More important, it will increase understanding of and commitment to the goals you and your management team worked so hard to create.

What are some ways you keep employees informed?

January is a time when many organizations present new and/or updated goals to guide behavior during the year ahead. Often, these goals have been weeks or even months in the making. Yet many leaders feel that all they need to do now is communicate the goals once and then everyone can go back to business as usual.

Not so!

The leader’s job is to consistently support informing, inspiring, and engaging employees in what needs to be done and how. And that means communicating the goals, strategies, and key destination points not just once but on a regular basis throughout the year. At this time of year, I typically recommend that clients pay special attention to the “inform” phase of the informing, inspiring, and engaging process.

Before jumping to the conclusion that communication is one of those “soft” skills that makes employees feel good but doesn’t really impact the bottom line, consider this:
study after study confirms that productivity and employee commitment are highest in the work areas where people are kept fully and regularly informed. In other words, the more you effectively communicate to employees, the better your return on investment.

Research also shows that organizations that communicate effectively outpace those that don’t. A global Watson Wyatt study of more than 267 companies representing all major industry sectors found that a significant improvement in communication effectiveness was associated with a 29.5 percent increase in market value. Plus, companies that communicated more effectively enjoyed employee turnover rates below the averages in their industries. (Not necessarily a problem in this economy, but as things continue to improve, keeping your best employees will go back to being a challenge for many).

Here’s another reason to communicate often: we simply don’t retain information very well, especially with only one exposure to the information.

Tests have shown that immediately after listening to a 10-minute oral presentation, the average listener has heard, understood, properly evaluated and retained only about half of what was said. Within the next 48 hours, this drops off another 50%, to a final 25% level of effectiveness. So after only one presentation, the likelihood of anyone having clarity on organizational strategies and goals is minute at best. Only through constant communication, delivered in a variety of formats, can we hope to create alignment, understanding, and commitment.

What’s the best method for initially communicating goals? According to employees, it’s face-to-face. Most organizations use a variety of electronic and written methods –such as emails, newsletters, bulletin boards and intranets — to communicate with employees. However, surveys show that, even today, employees place significantly greater value on face-to face communication, especially when it comes from the person they work for.

In most cases, the preferred source of information for employees is direct contact with the manager or supervisor. Yet, many employees feel that their managers don’t communicate effectively with them. If not corrected, this dissatisfaction frequently snowballs into lack of trust, mediocre effort, increased turnover, and disengagement from the goals and objectives of the company. So as part of the “inform” phase, make sure your managers and supervisors have the skills to communicate effectively, both in one-to-one and group situations.

Also, keep in mind that communication needs to be two-way. During team and company meetings, set the tone for openness, mutual understanding and respect. Don’t try to force closure during the initial discussion. Instead, make sure that team members have future opportunities to discuss and process the goals. You have probably had several months to consider and digest everything in the strategic framework, but this is the first time many employees will have heard them. Creating a process for people to ask questions a few days after the initial presentation will go a long way toward enhancing their understanding of the goals.

The “inform” phase involves making sure every employee knows the basics of your organization and/or team goals. It does not mean doing a once-a-year communication and then going silent on updates because you’re too busy. Things change frequently in business today. And when changes occur that affect goals, measures, and how things will get done, good leaders take the time to communicate again and again.

A good rule of thumb — when you think you’re communicating too much, you’re only halfway there!

Which is more important for a business to engage in – strategic planning or strategic thinking?

If you answered “both,” you win the prize.

What’s the difference between the two? Typically, strategic planning involves a formal process whereby company leaders and senior managers gather for a day or two and peer into the future to chart a course of action for the organization. This process usually results in a written plan that guides the company for the next one to three years.

Strategic thinking occurs when the entire organization begins to act in concert with the strategic plan. It involves teaching people at all levels of the organization to anticipate opportunities and threats while managing the day-to-day tasks that fall within their scope of responsibilities.

In most companies, front-line employees are trained to function in the moment rather than prepare for the future. Yet, just like the long-term success of the business, each individual’s success is dependent on his or her ability to implement tactics and perform in the moment, as well as execute plans for all of tomorrow’s accomplishments.

To encourage your entire organization to think more strategically, consider the following principles:

Overcome Fear of Failure. Accept that mistakes will happen. In fact, if they’re not happening, it probably means you’re not keeping up with your market. Instead of seeking to avoid mistakes, learn from them and design plans that allow for the occasional setback.

Take Incremental Steps. Never try to send a spaceship to the moon before you learn how to fly. Start with the strategies and components you can expect to reasonably sustain, and build on your early successes. This will help support the riskier components of your plan.

Make a Commitment. People aren’t stupid. No matter what you say, employees will wait to see what you and other leaders and senior managers actually do before they commit to anything new and different. Stand behind your plan and vision with actions and people will be drawn to achieve the goals.

Pick Up Speed. Don’t make the mistake of waiting for the ideal moment. In today’s world, there are no ideal moments. If you have planned and are focused, engage strategic components of your plan now and you will generate the momentum to carry through.

Be Responsive. Prepare to adapt your methods and processes to deal with roadblocks or changes. Developing the skills of flexibility and adaptability will ensure you can modify the plan when necessary and increase its chances of success. In fact, the more you encourage employees to think strategically, the more flexible and adaptable they will become.

Demonstrate Resolve. Understand the implications of your plan and allocate resources realistically. Strategic targets are never achieved without follow-through and alignment. Just saying you are going to do something does not make it happen. You have to have the organization capabilities (including people, process, system, tools & dollars) to make it happen.

Instill Teamwork. Gain the confidence and trust of your organization especially the managers who most directly influence individual contributors. Instill your vision in them, and help them succeed in their jobs so they can do the same for the organization.

What happens when employees begin to think more strategically?

They become more responsive to changing customer needs. They learn to identify potential threats, obstacles, and problem areas before they reach the critical point. They become better problem solvers as they learn how their decisions and actions impact the business in the future as well as today. And they become more involved with and more supportive of the overall strategic plan.

In the past, most companies could get by with just strategic planning. Today’s topsy-turvy markets demand more. Engage in strategic planning on a regular basis AND enhance the abilities to think strategically throughout the company. Your organization will become more flexible while increasing your ability to handle any new challenges that come your way.

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.

There’s a new normal for today’s businesses

Part 1 of a 3-Part Series

All great leaders are constant learners and unlearners. They study, analyze and question everything regardless of the economic situation. They shift when the need arises, not depending on those things they have always done the same way. Effective leaders don’t take anything for granted, especially outside forces that can drastically change the long-term impact on business.

So, what do we think we know based on the past year?

• Growing government regulations will impact how you sell, operate or deliver products and services more than ever.
• A recent study by Vistage International finds many business leaders are bracing for higher taxes to pay for the new regulations and loans used to re-ignite the economy.
• Economist Brian Beaulieu and others predict unemployment will continue to rise until early 2010 while loyalty will diminish as the remaining employees are asked to tackle extra tasks.
• Online social networks and other technological changes will continue to empower customers and employees. Company reputations will rise and fall virtually overnight through these communities.
• Finally, globalization will march forward on all levels… from smaller American companies selling security technology to foreign governments to Chrysler being owned by Italian automaker Fiat.

Planning Versus Reacting
Companies are adjusting to these trends, but often with knee-jerk reactions:

• Many businesses remain in survival mode with a focus on scrutinizing every expense, stretching out accounts payable schedules and, of course, layoffs. Preparing for sustainable growth is not on the radar screen.
• Customer service is improving as businesses hold on to preserve every precious relationship, but many companies will do almost anything to keep customers happy even if it makes no financial sense.
• Companies are chasing anything that might turn a fast buck. But with fewer employees, the chase diverts limited human resources from the core business and less progress is made on the right things.
• Decisions have been delayed in almost every sector regarding almost every choice. Some are looking for an instant, magic wand type event to indicate it is time to shift back to growth mode so not much is getting done even with the resources these organizations have.

What can you learn from these trends? And what can companies do to get positioned for an era of sustainable growth?

As Albert Einstein summed up about change… “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

But with so much in flux, where do you begin with your list of questions? Break up your process into three main steps to avoid confusion among employees and customers, and to validate your assumptions for success as the economy recovers:

• Identify key lessons about your business from the past year or two. What major considerations should be central to your strategic planning? Consider actions, activities, products and services that are not the focus of your competitors. Are they not hiring? Are they not seizing an emerging market? What gaps can you fill? And what can you stop doing? What did you try, but it did not work? What old habits and processes should you abandon even if you have invested in them for a long time?
• Distill your learning into focused action plans. Some actions might be short-term opportunities to meet cash flow needs. Other actions may build long-term sustainability. You may seize an opportunity that your competition is missing. Regardless, the actions should always support your core business mission and you should be very clear on when you will take the action and what resources are required to do it well.
• Anticipate the unanticipated as you start to implement. Make scenario planning part of the daily routine rather than an afterthought when plans don’t pan out. Prepare to pause, think and plan. It will feel like it is slowing you down, but will actually help you get to where you want to go much faster. Make asking “what if?” part of ‘the way we do things here.’ Force yourself to slow down and consider multiple perspectives, challenge your own assumptions and engage others who have diverse views.

I’ll break these three steps into more detail over the next two blogs. Stay tuned for a step-by-step approach on how to leverage the lessons learned to position your organization for greater success in the future.

Strategic planning methodologies are like shoes – one size does not fit all.

Some companies use a top-down, autocratic approach, where the plan gets created by a small group of senior managers and handed down to the rest of the organization. Some prefer a more democratic approach, with employees at all levels contributing their ideas and input to the plan. Most companies employ a hybrid of these two models.

The best approach for your company depends on several factors, such as size, industry, culture, type of workforce and management style. Regardless of which approach you choose, however, every strategic plan needs five key elements in order to achieve the intended results.

1. Mission. This defines why you exist as an organization. Specifically, it tells others (not just those in the organization) why you exist. Ideally, it describes some noble purpose that is both inspirational and aspirational, so that it instills pride in all those connected with the organization.
2. Guiding principles. Also called organizational attributes, these describe how you expect people to behave with each other and with other stakeholder groups. Guiding principles broadly define which types of behaviors are acceptable and which behaviors will not be tolerated. In particular, they describe how you will behave when faced with difficult situations or challenges.
3. Value propositions. These explain the value you provide to your organization’s different stakeholder groups, both internal and external. For example, why do customers buy from you? Why do employees come to work for your organization? What kind of return can shareholders expect? How does your community benefit from the work you do?
4. Destination points. These identify where your organization wants to go within a specified time frame. This is perhaps the most critical element in the whole process because the more clearly you define your desired end state, the greater your chances of getting there.
5. Areas of focus/strategies. These define, in a broad sense, how the organization will get to where it wants to go. They are the three to five areas everyone should be focused on to get to the destination points. What cuts across several destination points; where should the majority of energy be focused; what must everyone keep in mind as they make investments in people and other resources; and, what guides you on what to do and not to do are the core questions answered.

These five elements form an essential foundation for the strategic planning process. If even one of these bedrock elements is missing, your chances for success become marginal at best.

Once these elements are in place, the next step involves action planning and breakthrough modeling to determine what it will take to get to where you want to go. Here is where you get down to the nitty-gritty to figure out what organizational capabilities (systems, tools, processes, people and technologies) are needed to reach your destination points. Effective strategic planning also requires that you set goals and define team and individual accountabilities, as these link the big picture to individual goals and competencies.

Ultimately, strategic planning is like a jigsaw puzzle – all the pieces must be in place in order to complete the picture. The mission and guiding principles inspire and energize employees, while creating pride and connection throughout the organization. The value propositions provide a touchstone for staying focused on what matters to stakeholders. The destination points provide clear goals and milestones that provide the big picture employees want and need. And the strategies/areas of focus create alignment and ensure that everyone in the organization is working toward the same goal.

Have you got your five must have’s in place? And is everyone clear on what they are?