Strategy and strategic planning have the
potential to align the people, processes
and resources in an organization with
a clear, compelling and desired future.
Traditional planning processes
focus on “how” to take
your organization from where it is today
to where you want it to be in the future.
The problem with traditional planning
processes is that they fail when imperfect
knowledge, unintended consequences, uncertainty,
luck or internal resistance block the
approach outlined in the strategy or plan.
Traditional techniques for accumulating
data like P.E.S.T.L.E (an acronym for
Political, Economic, Social, Technological,
Legal and Environmental) and S.W.O.T.
(an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats) are nothing
more than processes small groups of planners
use behind closed doors to attempt to
consider all aspects of the business.
This makes the plan process-based, exclusive
and top down.
Once the traditional plan is developed,
it must then be communicated, put into
action and integrated in the daily decision-making.
The separation of the decision-makers
from the implementers makes it difficult
to get people to buy into the vision and
align their efforts with the overall goal.
Traditional planning also limits the options
to achieve success as it defines how to
achieve the objective.
There is no one right strategy about how to do something. In this evolving world of transparency, it makes much more sense
to develop a “why” based strategy or strategic plan leaving flexibility in how. Why
based plans include input from all the stakeholders greatly increasing the inputs (eliminating the need for P.E.S.T.L.E. and S.W.O.T.)
and thereby creating more choices. The involvement of more people, means a more bottom-up approach and the greater the support for the
resulting plan. Acceptance of why based plans results in empowerment with people finding new ways to reach the
goal when obstacles appear.
Successfully implemented strategies start with an understanding and acceptance by a majority of the parties involved about why
you are undertaking the endeavor. Because managers have been trained in traditional how based strategic planning,
it is rare to find wide spread understanding and acceptance in most organizations. No matter how good the plan, if the people responsible
for execution are not supportive, the plan will most likely not succeed.
Strategy and strategic planning in today’s highly competitive environment can no longer be relegated to the Executive Suite and then
imposed on the rest of the organization. Survival demands that everyone in an organization contribute not just their labor, but their
minds and spirit as well. Involving and Empowering employees to react appropriately and quickly to solve problems on their own requires
understanding and ownership of the why of the endeavor.
Bob Cannon knows first hand the shortcomings of traditional strategic planning and since 2002 has been studying and using
Appreciative Inquiry to help organizations overcome those shortcomings. This why based
approach can be applied to everything from corporate strategy, to brand strategy to marketing strategy covering the 4 Ps of product
strategy, price strategy, placement strategy and promotion strategy. (Some of our thinking is available as free marketing ideas in
“Taking Aim,” our free monthly strategy newsletter.)
If you want strategic thinking that begins with people, uses why to empower and ends in results,
contact
us toll free at (866)
598-8450.
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The Cannon Advantage : Contact us today by
phone toll free 866-598-8450 or