If the leader of your organization serves as the facilitator of your strategic planning session, your strategic planning session is just another lengthy meeting justifying what the leader thinks needs to be done. This is not strategic it is simply a way of justifying and gaining support for new directives and initiatives for the rank and file to follow. ~Jay Meyer
This thought came to me as I was preparing for a business course I am teaching at Aileron the next couple of days.
Working off of a sound strategic plan has never been as important as it is in today’s business world. Most industries are highly competitive and simply providing a quality product is not making the grade today. A good strategic plan will not only create more focus in the organization but it will serve as a way to effectively differentiate yourself from the competition.
One trait I’ve noticed about organizations who function in a strategic manner is their leader does not facilitate their strategic planning sessions.
If you are struggling with your strategy and you feel as though your business has plateaued and you are a leader who has always conducted your company’s strategic planning session it may be time to invest in an outside facilitator.
An outside facilitator (if strong) will be able to gain more transparency from the strategic planning team, including the leader. An outside facilitator will also be able to effectively navigate the strategy team through healthy conflict and often key strategic initiatives are born out of difficult conversations amongst the planning team (I write from experience). The best strategic plans are generated from teams who are transparent and view conflict as a good thing.
For more on strategy I will be conducting a course “Aileron’s Approach to Strategic Planning” on August 8th at Aileron from 8:30am to 11:00am. The course will outline a very simple, step-by-step approach to strategic planning.
P.E.A.C.E.
Ephesians 4:11-12, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ.”
