How can you build resilience and agility into your strategic plan?

To navigate the unpredictability in today's business landscape,building resilience and agility into an organization's strategic plan is essential. Richard Rumelt in his book titled “Good Strategy Bad Strategy," emphasizes the importance of having a 'kernel', a structure composed of diagnosis, guiding policy, and coherent actions. To infuse resilience, one must start with a robust diagnosis that includes scenario planning, as advocated by Peter Schwartz in "The Art of the Long View." This involves preparing for various potential futures, including adverse conditions, which ensures that the organization is not blindsided by unexpected challenges. A strategic plan that is resilient and agile is one that is diagnostic, flexible, and responsive.

From the perspective of the project manager, all the previously mentioned measures are very important and I think they are mandatory (with an emphasis on the risk management process, the change control process,...). I don't know if pre/post mortem review meetings were mentioned to learn from past mistakes and avoid future ones. From the perspective of managers, it is important to build a culture of resilience, train team members to constantly monitor the business internally and externally and react accordingly. More experienced team members may have the right to react without approval for certain type of scenarios and aligned with their role.

SWOT is largely misused and leads to poor outcomes, no decisions taken and no prioritisation. Data. Ditch the “honest and realistic” by using Data. Draw your future state based on data. Make data-driven decisions and use AI for large set of data. Resilience and Agile aren’t behaviours, it’s a consequence of not choosing the worst path with high probabilities of survival on a disruptive market.

in my opinion Explore the concepts and frameworks needed to ensure your organization can adapt to a shifting business context. Build an understanding of agility loops, scenario planning and how to approach difficult decision making through uncertain times.

Coming from someone who learned the hard way, conducting a personal SWOT analysis requires honesty and humility, avoiding arrogance and delusion. It involves realistically assessing one's strengths and weaknesses, and understanding how these align with individual goals. Identifying opportunities means recognizing what's achievable, while acknowledging threats involves understanding external challenges that might impede progress. This balanced approach is essential for setting realistic goals and developing effective strategies for personal growth and development.

In my experience, in order to anticipate alternatives to your strategic plan, it's essential to foster a culture of innovation and open communication within your organization. As a leader you must establish an environment that encourages your team members to contribute their diverse perspectives, insights, and ideas. This collaborative approach can unveil alternative strategies that may not have been apparent initially or with one person looking at the vision in isolation. The best part of open and robust discussion is it brings out so many ideas that were not originally apparent.

Using tools of Strategic Foresight to craft and implement a strategic plan allows agility and greater planning for disruption. Scenario planning is one of those tools. Crafting various scenarios and planning for those potential outcomes creates a better and more prepared future state. It also provides for greater agility and adaptability to changing elements in organizations. The use of scenario planning also gives greater consideration of external factors that pay impact the plan or anticipated outcomes. Understanding what is to come by horizon scanning can fortify the scenario planning and create better responses to future challenges.

In a forest, birds prepare for winter by storing food and finding shelter for harsh weather, or keeping their usual habits in milder conditions. This helps them survive no matter what the winter is like. So do scenario planning and be agile for the different outcomes.

I can provide some strategies that people might use to anticipate and address challenges that could derail their plans. Here are a few examples Risk assessment: This involves identifying and evaluating potential risks that could affect the success of a plan. By identifying potential risks in advance, you can develop contingency plans to help mitigate their impact. Flexibility: Building flexibility into your plans can help you adapt to changing circumstances and unexpected challenges. For example, you might have a backup plan in case your primary plan falls through, or you might be willing to pivot to a different course of action. Communication: Keeping stakeholders informed about the progress of your plans and any challenges you are facing.

The U.S. Army's Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) exemplifies strategic anticipation. It assesses external factors like enemy actions and terrain, and internal aspects like troop readiness. MDMP uses scenario planning and decision trees, mirroring business strategies that consider market trends, customer needs, and organizational capabilities. This thorough, adaptable approach is vital for effective strategy execution in any dynamic environment.

We should always, keep aline with the plan and have a clear path to achieve something, . One you have done that you should empower the people in the company to align with your path.

the company should invest its best resources in alignment with its top goals. And each of the team would act daily in accordance with these priorities, letting these priorities and agreed upon objectives guide their actions and execution. Here are some tips to help you bring your company's goals, priorities, actions and culture into coherence: 1-Get clear on your goals and priorities. 2-Check if your team really understands your goals and priorities. 3-Help your team connect their department and individual goals and priorities to the company. 4-effective communication, alignment requires a commitment to collaboration and teamwork. 5-ensuring that all levels of the organization are held accountable for their actions and decisions.

Having assessed my landscape, I align priorities and actions with precision. Focusing on the vital and pressing issues, resources are allocated judiciously. Alignment with values ensures coherence, fostering a consistent organizational approach. SMART goals, OKRs, and action plans provide the roadmap, effectively communicating and executing strategic priorities. This deliberate alignment propels the organization towards its vision, ensuring a harmonized and purpose-driven course of action.

You prioritize using the strategy. For example, if we are going to solve Need A, then by definition Need A is the top priority. This means Need B, Need C, etc. are out of scope from the strategy and will not be considered in the execution of the strategy, i.e, action plans. A strategy does not include OKRs. OKRs or business goals should have been set prior to the strategy since these are what the organization wants to achieve before it knows how to achieve those results.

Aligning priorities and actions is essential for success. It focuses efforts on key objectives, optimizes resource use, and maintains a consistent organizational culture. Tools like SMART goals aid clear communication, fostering adaptability and accountability. This alignment increases the likelihood of achieving long-term success. In essence, it's crucial for effective strategic execution and sustained organizational prosperity.

It’s tempting to be “done” after you implement everything. To learn from feedback, you have to be truly open to hearing it. And also curious enough to seek it out, even though it’s extra work. Then, it’s important to not only look for feedback that supports you - that’s where confirmation bias will sneak in. Honesty and humbleness to admit not everything is right will allow you the resilience to considering constructive feedback.

Actively solicit feedback from diverse sources, including customers, employees, and stakeholders. Analyze feedback objectively, identifying trends and areas for improvement. Encourage experimentation and agility in implementing changes based on feedback. Foster a learning mindset, where failures are seen as opportunities for growth. Regularly revisit strategies and processes based on feedback to stay responsive and adaptive in a dynamic environment. All in all, operate from a position of humility and openness.

In my experience, the pivotal last step is embracing adaptation and learning from feedback. It's akin to orchestrating a symphony, tuning in to insights from customers, employees, partners, and stakeholders. The flexibility to adjust plans based on this feedback and evolving conditions is paramount. Utilizing tools like dashboards, surveys, and reviews becomes crucial—think of them as your instruments for refining the harmony of your strategic performance. ???

I agree. Listening is a great practice to consider to maintain our plan as a living document. Incremental efforts around collecting feedback and make it actionable is the way to go! #change #agile #feedback

I recommend proactive reporting of progress against the plan or OKRs. This means reporting insights, key feedback, and internal issues directly to the executive team on a weekly or biweekly basis. It is not enough to send a dashboard link and say 'we are on track'. This makes executives nervous.

As a strategy leader, fortifying resilience and agility into our strategic plan is paramount. This means instilling a dynamic mindset in our team, and embracing a proactive approach to change. Regularly reassessing and adjusting our objectives and/or goals based on ever-evolving landscape is crucial for staying adaptable. Always encourage cross team collaboration, culture of innovation and continuous learning coupled with clear communication channels and well-defined contingency plans to equip our team to navigate and respond swiftly to uncertainties effectively.

As a strategy lead, I feel building a culture of agility and resilience is a core fabric that needs to be embedded in the DNA of all team members. Resilience is not just having a plan in place or Agility is not about thinking about each sprint & deliverable, it is more of a cultural shift and each & every action you take have to have elements of agility & resilience embedded in it.

I have learned that to make my plan strong and agile I needed to consider peeking into the future with scenario planning for uncertainties. Make it a habit to train your team well and tailor development plans to individual needs, and create a culture where they feel free to try new things, make mistakes, and learn. Encourage a mindset of exploration, allowing room for trials and errors. Listen, adapt your strategies as needed, and set measurable goals that leave space for improvement over time. Keep your plan open and ready to change, more like a supportive friend than a set of strict rules.

In my experience a long term focus is an essential part. which is missing in most of implementations. It keeps objectives aligned.

Consider integrating sustainability and social responsibility into your strategy, aligning your organization with responsible and ethical practices for long-term success.