Strategic planning can take a considerable amount of time. Many companies go off site for days, compile their plans, write a memo, produce the power point, print coffee mugs and t-shirts, declare victory and go home. The plans are put in nice binders and then fulfill their function of sitting on a bookshelf protecting the shelves from being covered in dust. It is an all-to-frequent scenario, a sin many of us suffer from.
Shifting happens, things change, emergencies come up, the unlikely suddenly becomes likely. So we shelve the plan, embarrassed to look at what we committed to and what wearen’t doing.
Many companies give up on even documenting and updating their business plans and strategic plans because it requires too much time and energy.
Things are changing, faster than at any other time in history. World events erupt halfway around the globe that impact us at home. Disruptive technologies emerge that change our market paradigms, new competitors emerge next door, around the country and from countries we have never heard of.
As these current day realities shift under our feet, we need a way to move our plans forward. We don’t progress because it requires that we repeat the multi-day, offsite meeting with piles of documents. I know what you’re thinking: Even if we wanted to have the meeting, how can we find the time when we are facing one storm after another?
A simple way to keep our teams fresh and looking forward is to have a regular and robust discussion around our plans, our progress and regular course corrections.
Next week, I’ll outline a simple way to do this with a framework that helps employees and leaders identify opportunities for business planning within current realities. In the meantime, consider how the isolated planning meetings may be a detriment in the long run, and maybe by next week you’ll be open-minded for a new technique!