How to get the best out of your strategic planning

March 1, 2022

With enough brainstorming and preparation, almost anyone can come up with a strategic plan! But this is only half of the task, as the rest of it is also ensuring all team members or employees get the most out of strategy planning.

There is no confusion here at all, as the first (the strategy plan) is all about making it clear to all the group’s strategy or direction. The second (getting the most) is making sure the group really gets to make a good action plan and good follow-through. The point here is that we do not approach strategic planning as some unsavory hurdle we need to despise, for the sake of finally saying the work is done.

It is important to be clear of the above as the road to a planning session is not only paved with good intentions. Day-to-day concerns compete too for your eyeballs, which can dilute your focus. Check out these tips on how to stay focused and intentional in achieving your vision. These will help you execute, while at the same time being able to achieve as each day's work calls for it.

1) Break down your plan into smaller, more achievable bits. One way to actualise an annual plan could be through a more achievable 3-month plan. This way, goals get translated into the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) form. The deadlines and expressing goals as action items will make your plan easier to picture as realisable. So for example, "observe punctuality" won't cut it; specifics will need to be identified.

Speaking of action plans, you can also use an online CRM (customer relationship management ) tool which will automate the process of deadline setting and task delegation.

2) Schedule separate meetings to tackle team progress, issue management, and leadership. Time and time again, meetings are viewed with mixed reactions. But if done properly, meetings can help everyone to overcome roadblocks, avoid miscommunication and get all to stay on the same page. For example, many team members emphasise the need for meetings that follow the designated schedule. Some CEOs are known to send out employees who were not invited to join a meeting. One way to refresh the image of meetings could be to organise it right after some team building activities.

3) Practice accountability. An excellent feature of a CRM is that tasks can be assigned to employees who open an account. This makes it easier to track who is on track, and who is behind schedule.

4) Have time to celebrate successes and incentivise wins! There are many ways to encourage employees to focus on targets and goals, and one of these is through recognition days and performance compensation. Employee recognition helps everyone to be aware of what are the best work practices that management approves of. Team building activities in Brisbane, especially if combined with social impact, will get everyone thinking out of the box.

5) Organisational leaders begin implementation amongst themselves of the action plan. We have saved the best for last, but much has been written elsewhere about this. Of course, a quick way to change the office environment is leading by example. Employees learn the most from the integrity of their leaders, or at least the sincere effort to show it.

We could actually keep going with many tips to ensure your strategic planning doesn't end up as water under the bridge! But these will help you to start moving forward. The daily concerns of every day might distract some team members, or transform some to the costly work of putting out daily fires. But at the end of the day, for as long as there is an effort towards a good example and accountability, your team/organisation/business will set its course aright, and strategic and SMART goals will be clearly in view again.