Bring in “the implementers”
Want to make a strategist cringe? These statements can do it:
"Come on, let's get down to brass tacks."
"The Devil's in the details."
"Stop talking. Just go for it."
"The solution is obvious. Why are we dancing around?"
"This is the problem. Let's just solve it!"
"Let's not waste time on this."
The statements are often made by people whose major focus and great concern is on implementation and execution: Getting the job done.
The challenge for these types of people is that strategic planning is a deliberate process. Strategic planning occurs in a realm that can make operations, sales and other highly tactical, results-focused people very uncomfortable. Taking a big step back, pushing thought laterally, entertaining other realities, trying to look over the horizon to see what is or will be there, gaming various futures and seeking strategies that will reroute or even upend the organization can be quite unnerving to people who are focused on winning the current battle being fought on the ground.
Yet these people are to be celebrated, because they are the implementers. Without implementing strategies, however elegant the strategic plan and resulting strategies are, the organization will go nowhere and certainly will not change for the better.
Here's the not so hidden secret for more effective planning results: The implementers are most effective and valuable for the organization when they "get" where the tactical steps they are implementing come from. With heightened strategic awareness, implementers can better see what's working and what is not, where the action steps teased out in the strategic planning process need to be altered to reach the strategic goal. They can be more situational based on the effectiveness of the action steps in getting the organization to its desired destination.
This is an argument for bringing the entire organization into the strategic planning process, even those individuals not in strategic, policy roles. This does not mean that every organization member needs to be on the planning team and or be part of the group that develops the plan or that approves it. It suggests, however, the wisdom of seeking input from the implementers in the process of developing the plan, consulting with appropriate implementers as action steps are being shaped, and sitting with the implementers and reviewing the plan and plan logic with them before implementation begins.
Let's call the process of bringing the implementers into the strategic planning process in appropriate ways "strategic implementation." Effective implementation - indeed, strategic implementation - depends on the buy-in of the implementers. Be sure to seek and nurture it!
