Bungling the Strategic Planning Process: #1 of the Six Mistakes Smart Leaders Make

By Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose

 

No one reaches greatness—or stays there—by accident. Success is usually the result of extensive research, deliberation, learning from mistakes, and effort, channeled into a well-thought-out and detailed plan. Business success is no exception. As Peter Drucker noted in his bestseller Management, strategic planning “prepares today’s business for the future” and “requires that the work to be done to produce the desired future be clearly defined and clearly assigned.” Businesses without a plan will find themselves lost, struggling to keep afloat, while those with a great strategic plan carried out by passionate staff will glide confidently into the future!

Yet many leaders invest too little time and effort into their strategic planning process—or none at all! Some get so bogged down in the daily details that they mistakenly fail to set aside time to plan for the future. Others create inadequate plans driven solely by greed and profit, which falter when they are handed down to staff to implement. They have not solicited input, nor inspired a connection with the plan by aspiring to a higher purpose with it, and so employees just “go through the motions!”

Despite the minimal effort that some leaders apply to it, envisioning and sharing the strategic plan is one of the major duties of an organization’s leadership. A strategic plan will only work if the people within the organization truly believe in it, and it’s up to those at the helm to lead the charge, from its inception to implementation. Leaders shouldn’t create the plan unilaterally, however. They must solicit input, explain the plan and its steps to staff at all levels of the organization, and then define how employees fit into the vision.

One of the major benefits of a solid strategic plan is that it clearly lays out expectations for every staff member. If employees don’t know what they’re working toward, how can they know if they’re doing a good job? When leaders fail to explain their expectations, staff will try to find their own way, which decreases efficiency and increases the likelihood of mistakes and conflict. Giving employees guidance and coaching, however, allows them to excel at their jobs and reduces the need for micromanagement—freeing up leaders to focus on the “big picture” years down the road. It also allows the business to continue on the right track in the future as leaders die, retire, or leave.

As Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan noted in their bestseller Execution, “The leader of a business has to own the strategy development. He doesn’t have a strategic planner do all the work, then come in and introduce himself to the subject the day it’s being presented. He takes responsibility for the construction of the plan and gets some help, and then—once everyone agrees with the strategy—takes responsibility for developing action plans.” When people throughout the organization are engaged and passionate about the plan, they will move toward realizing the goals and ideals set out in it!

An organization’s strategic plan should tell everyone within it—from the newest entry-level employees to the top executives—where the business is going and how it will get there, which ensures that everyone is rowing in the same direction. Each organization’s strategic plan is unique, but every plan will serve the following important roles:

• Helping company leadership and key staff to discuss (and then put down in writing) plans that explain where they want to go as a company and everyone’s role in that journey.
• Outlining with clarity to all staff and consultants where the organization’s priorities lie, including its goals, measurable objectives, and activities.
• Explaining the company’s role within its market sector, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors.
• Summarizing important data in a single document that can be presented to banks or investors so that they understand the business and may be persuaded to extend funding when the business needs cash.
• Communicating to the team a clear roadmap with measurable checkpoints along the way for validation that they are headed in the right direction, and serving as a gauge to know when they arrive.
• Preparing the company and empowering the employees to steer the ship in the event that the organization’s owner or leader leaves, becomes disabled, or dies.
• Making the organization more effective, efficient, and focused, while promoting teamwork and good communications.

The components of a good strategic plan include:

• Purpose, which is the company’s broad reason for being. To truly inspire staff, this should extend beyond just making money! For example, our family of companies’ purpose is to “create opportunities to improve lives,” particularly those of our employees, clients, vendors, and community members.
• Values, what the people within the company consider to be important; the way they act and behave toward each other, their clients, and the community; and the way they perform their work.
• Vision, the “big picture” or dream for the years ahead.
• Mission, the vehicle that takes businesses to the vision. It helps determine who they are, their targeted audience, the designated service area, and what they do.
• Management (or action) plan, the structural component that delegates accountability with goals, measurable objectives, and tasks associated with each objective, including who will lead each task and the target date to complete each activity.

Another important factor is execution, the ability to implement the flexible strategy successfully as a team. Although it’s not a written component of the plan itself, the ability to implement a strategic plan hinges on the company’s ability to execute—to get things done. Otherwise, the plan will simply sit on a shelf, gathering dust!

 

The bottom line: Behind every great organization lies a thorough, realistic strategic plan crafted together by leaders and staff. It might be possible for lesser leaders to get by with subpar or basic plans for a while, but eventually, their lack of foresight—and ability to engage employees in getting excited about the future—will be their downfall! After all, as Yogi Berra famously said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there!”

About the Authors: Our corporate and personal purpose is to “create opportunities to improve lives” by sharing our knowledge, research, experiences, successes, and mistakes. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

Mike DuBose received his graduate degree from the University of South Carolina and is the author of The Art of Building a Great Business. He has been in business since 1981 and is the owner of Research Associates, The Evaluation Group, Columbia Conference Center, and DuBose Fitness Center. Visit his nonprofit website www.mikedubose.com for a free copy of his book and additional business, travel, and personal articles, as well as health articles written with Dr. Surb Guram, MD.

Blake DuBose graduated from Newberry College’s Schools of Business and Psychology and is president of DuBose Web Group (www.duboseweb.com).

Katie Beck serves as Director of Communications for the DuBose family of companies. She graduated from the USC School of Journalism and Honors College.

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