From Great Ideas to Implementation

Mar 28, 2023 | Strategic Planning

After months of conducting industry research, several work sessions, debates, conversations, and meetings with industry leaders as well as with front-line team members, a client’s new strategic plan is complete. They’ve received board approval. They’ve just completed a leadership summit in which they shared their new plan with the rest of the management team and received wide support for the plan. With this much momentum and energy, why did the CEO ask, “What now? What should we do next?” From...

Don’t Create a Laundry List. Create a Strategic Plan

Dec 13, 2022 | Strategic Planning

It happens frequently. It happens with C-Suite executives as well as with mid-level managers. It happens when the excitement of DOING things to transform the organization takes hold. ‘It’ is when the strategic planning team focuses more on what they’re going to DO instead of what they want to ACHIEVE. It is when they stop thinking strategically. It causes teams to create laundry lists instead of strategic plans. …when the strategic planning team focuses more on what they’re going to DO instead...

Stop Boring Strategic Plan Updates

Nov 22, 2022 | Strategic Planning

An association executive director asked during a recent coaching conversation, “Am I doing something wrong, or why are the strategic plan review meetings I hold with my senior staff so boring? My Director of Operations said yesterday, ‘It feels as if all we’re doing is tracking stuff so we can mark it off this master plan.’ You know what? She’s right. That’s exactly what it feels like.” Well I wish I could say I was stunned by his revelation, but I wasn’t. Because, tracking strategic plans...

Starting a Strategic Initiative? Clarify Your Culture First

Jun 21, 2022 | Strategic Planning

Now that you’ve finally hired the additional project team members needed, and you’ve checked, checked, and triple-checked your strategic initiative’s plan and deliverables, it’s time to start your project, right? Wrong. Before you start any strategic initiative, clarify with your team the role the project plays in supporting your organization’s mission, and how each team member fits in. The more clearly every team member (veteran and new) understands how the project and their work –...

Think About Impact and Outcomes Before You Plan Your Strategic Planning Retreat

Apr 20, 2021 | Strategic Planning

Two prospective strategic planning clients reached out to me this past week. Both organizations have a new CEO, at least two new board members each, at least two new senior staff members each, and both were requesting information on how I might facilitate their plan development during a two-day board retreat. It became quickly apparent, both CEOs were simply approaching their outreach to me as somewhat of a checklist item from their board: Find a consultant for our strategic planning retreat....