• About us
  • People
  • Philosophy
  • Partners
  • Company & Goals
  • News
  • Contact
• Career Strategies
  • Career pointers
  • Success stories
  • Ask an expert
  • Career coaching
  • Leadership development
  • Executive & business coaching
  • Assessments & evaluations
  • Promotional Offer
  • Fees
• Corporate Solutions
  • Performance pointers
  • Case studies
  • Human performance management
  • Organizational & team development
  • Instructional design & training
  • Assessments & evaluations
  • Promotional Offer
  • Promotional Offer
  • Consulting rates
• Resources
  • Career resources
  • Corporate resources
  • White Papers
  • Presentation downloads
• Members area
  • Log in
  • Register

Performance Pointers Archives

Agile Strategic Planning for a Rapidly Changing World

The first point is worthy of a dedicated article, which will have to wait for another time, since I really wanted to address the second point, in the context of the volatile economic environment we’re in right now. As the stock market goes up and down by hundreds of points on a daily basis, and predicting which way it will go is akin to flipping a coin, companies are floundering. There’s the Strategic Plan, outlining all the goals, targets and activities Required to Meet Goals (and Analyst’s Expectations) and it’s become worse than useless. Bear with me as I explore a nautical metaphor:

Not only is it now useless as a guide to navigating the company through the rough seas, it has become a liability. Based on assumptions and projections, and virtually locked in for the next year or so, it becomes not the guiding beacon, but the dead weight of a drag-anchor off the stern, slowing the ship down, snagging on unexpected obstacles under water, and greatly hindering its maneuverability. To continue the metaphor just a little bit further: we’re no longer sailing on the open ocean. Somehow, the vessel has entered into the shallows, and there are jagged reefs all around. Even slow speed ahead will crash it into a reef sooner or later.

The Strategic Plan is no longer the appropriate vessel to steer the company safely. Instead of a large, ocean-going ship, what we need in these times is a sleek, nimble, highly maneuverable small boat, like a motorized canoe or skiff. How does that translate to the strategic planning process that organizations have come to rely on? Here’s my suggestion:

Borrowing from the world of software development, I am going to coin the phrase “Agile Strategy Development”. Instead of an annual process, that takes many weeks to complete, and that is captured in a weighty document called “The 2010-2012 Strategic Planning Document”, what organizations need to start doing is initiating an Agile Process, with monthly “Strategy Scrums”, where the company’s goals and targets are redefined, reset, adjusted, revised and/or scrapped. Then, for the next 30 days, the so-called Sprint, the company runs flat-out to get as close to those re-jigged goals as possible. At the end of each sprint, evaluate, discuss, and adjust during the next Strategy Scrum. And so another cycle of 30 days execution on goals begins.

While we’re on the subject of Scrums, it may also be a great idea to start involving more than just the top C-level executives in the - now Agile - strategic planning scrum process. You’d be surprised at how many great, innovative ideas can bubble up from the rank-and-file and the line managers. It also helps greatly in the execution sprint if the ones doing the actual work feel they were part of the discussion and co-creators of the solutions.

Resource Topics & Types

Authentic communication
Content Management
Cognitive Edge
Consulting
Knowledge Management
Leadership Development
Training and Instructional Design
Planning for Succession
Retaining & Motivating
Managing Change
Plain Language
Managing Up
Human Performance Improvement
Team Role Dynamics
Book Reviews
White Papers & Presentations

Recent Entries