What are some ways to make your strategic plan sustainable?

The word “sustainable” is one of the most abused words nowadays. I believe that in the scope of “executive management," the best definition of sustainability is consistency in implementation, and here I need to differentiate between the two terms “strategic plan” and “implementation plan." In order to achieve a sustainable strategy, you need to put a very realistic, on-ground implementation plan in place.

Almost every company starts a process in late Q3 to start their following year's strategic plan. What is most important is that the plan is funded with the right resources and budget to execute. The strategic plan needs to start with the executive leadership team but aligned with a change management program and clearly communicated to all resources in the company. Executive team must take the governance role to ensure progress and that the team stays on the course.

To ensure your strategic plan is sustainable don't skimp on the foundation. Pay a generous and above average wage to your front-line, customer facing employees. Though many entry level positions may be "easy" or something that "anybody can do", too many companies fail to understand the true impact that these employees have. Next, ensure you have a strong core - middle management. I've seen over and over again where the MOST qualified individuals are passed over because the hiring or department manager is simply too afraid that this candidate just may be better than them and will eventually take their job. This often hard-to-identify type of middle manager is prevalent in nearly EVERY SINGLE company and is a cancer to each of them.

Ensuring the sustainability of a strategic plan involves several key approaches. Firstly, align the plan with the organization's values and long-term vision to create a sense of purpose and continuity. Engage stakeholders at all levels, fostering a collective commitment to the plan's success. Implement clear and measurable goals with regular progress assessments to track and adjust strategies as needed. Foster adaptability by staying attuned to changing external factors and adjusting the plan accordingly. Finally, communicate the strategic plan consistently to maintain organizational focus and enthusiasm, making it an integral part of the company's culture for long-term sustainability.

Review and update your strategic plan to ensure it aligns with the evolving internal and external environments Involve key stakeholders in the strategic planning process, communicate progress gather feedback and make informed adjustments Anticipate potential challenges and have contingency plans in place Ensure that the strategic plan aligns with the organization's core values and purpose Leverage technology to support and enhance strategic initiatives Develop strategies to mitigate risks and be flexible to changes Foster a learning and training culture within the organization for skills enhancement Maintain a short and long-term perspective in the strategic plan

To ensure your strategic plan is sustainable, regularly review your external environment. This involves analyzing industry trends, market opportunities, and societal threats. Tools like SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, and Porter’s Five Forces are invaluable for this assessment. By understanding these external factors, you can proactively anticipate changes, capitalize on new opportunities, and mitigate risks. Additionally, align your plan with current best practices, standards, and regulations relevant to your field. Staying attuned to the external environment not only helps in adapting to evolving conditions but also in maintaining a competitive edge and ensuring long-term sustainability of your strategy.

Formalize your strategic planning with tools that allow for periodic updating and plan review phases throughout the year to simplify and not forget follow-up. Record the variations that come from the context as they happen and then periodically stop to look at them with a higher and overall vision and to identify trends or macro-behaviors that exceed the contingent vision. Develop awareness of continuous change through frequent moments of review (even simple ones)

In this case, I would actually start with PESTLE and use it to just get a broad overview of the external factors impacting the industry, market, and society (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors). This would help me understand the landscape. Then, I would switch to Porter's to really dive into the specific competitive dynamics of the industry. I'd analyze the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, the threat of new entrants and substitutes, and the existing level of competition.

The strategic plan only is sustainable when it becomes a living and fluid document that leadership is using - dust it off and give the thing some oxygen. If you are leading, you should know what the leadership team, ownership, and stockholders are moving towards. External reviews offer a multi-tier and frankly a quantifiable way to move towards success in looking at opportunities, emerging trends, tech advancements and markets for expansion. In addition the consistent pulse of your competitors, consumer or client behavior plus the political winds of regulatory change all impact the plan and must be monitored in real time, in some cases anticipated.

Nachhaltigkeit hei?t Nutzen zu erzeugen. Viele neu Vorschriften werden nur als l?stige Regeln abgetan aber die Kernfrage ist, wie lassen sie sich nutzbringend einsetzen und zu einem Vorteil im Unternehmen aber auch im Vergleich zur Konkurrenz einsetzen. Hierzu bedarf es der Kreativit?t, der Kenntnisse des speziellen Umfeldes Ihres Unternehmens und auch ein bi?chen Mut in der gelungenen Interpretation von Vorschriften.

Probably the hardest thing to do is disrupt the status quo. It is not only risky and challenging to the current work but potentially deadly to the interpersonal relationships that make work flow. The best place to start is to agree on the problem that needs solving and then on how to solve it with the least damage.

One of the markers of a great company is having the right people on the bus, and in the right seats. Aligning your internal capabilities is just that. Leaders need to know where their strengths are, and how they can utilize them in this process. But, remember, it is the people who drive the processes.

Include in the strategic plan a focus on the relational context necessary so that the purpose can transform into impact. Organizations are people in relationships, and every process, action, plan, system of skills etc. it is always subordinated to the effectiveness of the relational context and to the possibility that people can participate in a conscious, responsible way and through a fluid, concrete and authentic dialogue.

To commit to a plan of unrealistic growth, with no evolution/changes in resources and internal policies and capabilities is Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity. Be realistic, and ensure the team commits to the plan.

Make the strategy agile so that you have room to shift if there are market disruptions in your industry. By not doing so you run the risk of the strategy being an exercise in Q1 that is forgotten by Q3.

To sustain your strategic plan, it's essential to regularly monitor and evaluate performance. Set clear, measurable indicators, targets, and milestones for your goals. Utilize tools like dashboards, scorecards, or reports for effective tracking and communication of performance. This approach allows for a tangible measurement of progress, impact, and value. It's crucial to acknowledge and celebrate achievements, as well as to learn from any failures. Regular performance evaluation provides an opportunity to make necessary adjustments, ensuring that your strategy remains aligned with your objectives and responsive to changing circumstances.

one piece of advice while observing performance is to note down relevant elements that current performance indicators are not able to capture in order to evaluate continuous improvements also in control methods. Use follow ups as input for the maintenance of your strategic plan which must become a working tool and not a static "treasure map". Share and communicate significant changes in a fluid way so that the change becomes an awareness and not a fear.

Strategic performance should be evaluated regularly with the presence of tangible and measurable KPIs. One should make distinction between the strategic and operational performance. Strategic performance has to be desgined in light of the BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) not the process based outcomes. The Strategic plan should address all internal and external risks and ensure that the project outcomes are properly linked to the strategic intents duly aligned with the BHAGs. One of the tactic is to see if the overall strategic management goals are being met by the operational and tactical performance of the organization.

One of the reasons I like OKR goal setting so much is it fits so well with strategic planning to develop a set of quarterly and annual objectives and key results that can be measured.

Learning SWOT Questions are an effective strategy implementation tool when you create something radically new and venture into a terra incognita. Learning SWOT Questions are not a SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis is done before a strategic action, while Learning SWOT Questions are asked after an experimental strategic action. They help discover new weaknesses, strength, threats, and opportunities.

The Strategic Plan should not be carved in stones rather be flexible to changes based on the strategic outcomes and early warning signs generated by the strategic performance indicators. Every process need to be analyzed in terms of their performance and efficacy. Strategic audits are a must to identify any loose ends or non performers in a timely manner raising red flags for serious defaults. The dash board should carry these indicators for proper identification with early warning signs indicating changes needed to be made in the strategic plan.

I recommend that my strategic planning clients keep their plans displayed by their desks. Metrics should be reviewed monthly. With the rapidly changing workplace now, strategic plans should be reassessed every 6 months.

Reassessing past decisions is a must in today's era of rapid change. Leading innovative firms used to run reassessment sessions every 6 months. Now they run reassessment sessions every 3 months because past decisions become obsolete increasingly faster. Reassessment should be a cross-functional exercise to enable a systemic approach to strategy innovation.

Stay on the road . Too many plans don't survive because the boss sees a new shining object that he/she wants to do . Many times this leads to majoring in the minors. Tasks or conversations that use up resources dedicated to the plan . Losing momentum and focus necessary to move the strategic plan along .

A sequência de um Planejamento Estratégico sustentável é esse: ambiente externo, capacidades internas, matriz de produtos/ofertas e seu desdobramento. Envolver stakeholders é certamente mandatório e o PE deve ser construído com intensa participa??o de quem o executará, com o respectivo or?amento aprovado. Por fim, menos pirotecnia e mais conteúdo. Em minha experiência profissional, como imstrutor de estratégia para conselheiros e mentor vi muitos planos lindamente apresentados e "vendidos", com pouca ou nenhuma sustenta??o técnica. Destino: fracasso.

If leadership is serious about strategy they take it into account in every decision. For this the strategy of the organisation needs to be clear and simple to retain, it needs to be known by all teammembers. One can start already by having the mission/vision/values on one page. Not many organsiations have it (and know it)

Strategy as most leaders tell us culminates with a distilled plan on a page understood by everyone It is repeated till it is refined and clear To achieve that , bottoms up , top down , industry perspective , economic environments have collide , debate and come to a meaningful executable understandable output !

Strategy is wat je echt doet denk ik dan. En veelal is dat niet het Mission statement ; tenzij dit hype en high level bleef en niemand echt weet wat en hoe. Daar werk van maken en simpel en concreet blijven; een heel nuttige sessie