"Back To School" Strategic Planning
How often will we see those three words over the next several weeks? Whether you have school-aged children or not, the expression "Back To School" conjures up thoughts, emotions, or memories from the past. Some may remember the anxiousness of heading into school (or back to work) for the first time after summer vacation; others may recall the eager anticipation of something new to come; or both. Regardless, the start of the new school year often coincides with other annual beginnings. Numerous organizations regroup in the fall after a summer break, football season kicks off, the Jewish calendar initiates its new year with a time of reflection and renewal, the harvest season begins, and Congress is back in session.
Many successful organizations focus on strategic planning in the fall. While the process is ongoing, generally executives take a hard look once a year at their markets and metrics, assess how the company is doing, and create goals for the coming year. From this process will also stem a budget, performance criteria, and allocation of resources, which are often implemented at the beginning of the calendar year. Thus, the fall, or fourth quarter, is frequently a planning period.
For first-time strategic planners, professionally or personally, a solid exercise in identifying your core values reveals who you are and what you stand for. From this, you can develop a "mission" or "vision" statement that gives you a defined purpose, like a motto or creed. Now I know this sounds elementary to business executives, and it may sound crazy to my personal clients (and family and friends), but it is the single-most effective, yet underutilized, tool to achieving success and fulfillment. Once an individual or an organization has clear values and a vision, goals are then set to guide your path. With specific, measurable, realistic goals, several things happen: decision-making becomes easier, problems get solved quicker, and people following this path are much happier because they are moving in the right direction.
For leaders who already engage in strategic planning, the start of the 'school year' is a great time to evaluate how well you are aligned with your vision and meeting your goals; as well as assessing what needs to change. Often this is done with input from key executives or constituents. Data can be gathered through customer surveys, interviews, statistical analysis of consumer use of your products/services, financial patterns, or performance reviews, just to name a few. A common practice is to compile this data, then have some form of retreat(s), starting with the executive team and then cascading through the next levels of leadership to get everyone on board.
Retreats are a key part of the strategic planning process. Retreats allow individuals to step out of their day-to-day details and focus on the big picture. Whether it is a hotel conference room just down the street or a quiet get-away farther away, simply being out of the home or office lends fresh insight and perspective, without the distraction of what is happening immediately in front of you. Now and again, executives and leaders will enlist external facilitators or coaches to help with this process. For teams, turning the reins over to someone else allows the executive to think rather than lead, and often results in more creative thinking, breakthroughs, and team collaboration. So as you get your new, freshly-sharpened pencils and backpack ready, think about what is most important to accomplish this coming 'school year.' How are you going to grade yourself? What do you want your report card to look like? And what do your parents and teachers, (i.e. stakeholders and constituents) expect of you in the coming semester?
The Active Pursuit. . .
 The Big IDEA
Whether you are new to this process or preparing to check-in on your existing strategic plan, this 4-step IDEA (Identify, Discover, Examine, Act) will move you in the right direction. These are the basic steps to creating a strategic or personal plan. For more support or information, contact kim@mycoachinmotion.com.
IDENTIFY - What are your 5 top core values? What do you hold sacred and are not willing to compromise?
DISCOVER - Why are these values more important to you than anything else? How well are you (or your organization) actually living these values? What happens when you (or your organization) honor these values? How do you feel? What happens when you or the organization does not honor these values?
EXAMINE - Who or what is enabling you to live these values with success and fulfillment? Who or what is disabling you or preventing you from living and acting on these values? Are you setting goals that are truly aligned with your values? How do your personal goals align with your professional goals?
ACT - What goals will help you live your best life? What resources do you need to support you on your journey? How will you measure your success?
. . .of Excellence
Three Cups of Tea - last chance for a great summer read. Greg Mortenson's incredible vision and tenaciousness helped him overcome colossal obstacles and adversity to fulfill his dream. A very inspiring (and true) story.
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink always has an interesting way of looking at the world. When going into strategic thinking mode, this book will help you expand and enhance your perspective. He discusses interesting and unconventional ideas about why certain people have become successful and the keys to their true mastery.
Ideas in Motion
"If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else."
- Yogi Bera
"Plans are nothing; planning is everything."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
- Benjamin Franklin
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