The following was from an article I wrote at the end of 2015:
“One thing that is always last on the list to address as we moe into the end of the year is the plan for next year. If we wait until next year to think about our strategic plan, it will usually be January, February or even March before anything is in place; and then we need to communicate it, embed it within each team, link it to individual objectives, etc. – this could take another month, at least. So, we have lost ¼ of the year – time that should be used to accomplish our goals.”
Now that we are in January of the new year, if the above is you, don’t fret. It’s not too late to develop your plan for the current year, but you need to get on it NOW!
Here are the 5 things you need to do to make this happen:
- Hold a Strategy Session – Get your team together “offsite” for a strategy session. I know…you don’t have the time. Find the time! It is critical to set the direction for you, your team and your company/function, including current product growth, new products, marketing, infrastructure enhancements, human capital development, etc. If your team knows where you want to take the organization/function, they can help you get there.
- Develop Business Models – Develop Business Models, as necessary, for any new business and/or product that you contemplated during your strategy session to ensure its viability and profitable. Make sure that this is something that is worth spending the time and money on before you start to spend the time and money on it.
- Budget Your Strategy – Link the strategy to your budget and then prioritize your strategy based on what you have the time, and can afford, to work on.
- Create Concrete Action Plans – Assign each strategy to an owner responsible for developing a specific action plan to accomplish the strategic goal. This takes the conceptual strategy to a tangible level that you can action and accomplish. This is a critical component of strategy development that is often overlooked by most companies.
- Communicate – Communicate this strategy for the new year to your organization/function and have each of your team members link the strategy and action plans to their team and individual goals. Now everyone understands why they are doing their job and how it fits into the direction and goals of the organization; as a result, everyone is engaged and accountable to help drive the success of the strategy.
Prism Partners International can assist you and your leaders develop your strategy and deliver resulting action plans to embed your strategy into your organization. We drive results by holding individuals and teams accountable for accomplishing their goals, continually focusing on process improvement. This creates an organizational environment positioned to effectively and efficiently manage growth and improves profitability.
Also, if you want a more thorough training to help you develop your strategy for the new year, check out our online training course – Strategy, Culture and Organizational Alignment: Setting Your Company’s Course. Our online training courses also cover culture, leadership and performance management. These courses can be an invaluable and affordable tool to help you drive your organization/function forward and develop your people.
Please contact us to learn how we can help. We invite you sign-up for our weekly blog posts at http://www.prismpartnersintl.com/blog. We also ask that you join our LinkedIn Group (Strategic Human Capital Alignment Forum), Like Us on Facebook (Prism Partners International) and Follow Us on Twitter (@PrismPartners).