If your firm has a pattern of stops
and starts with strategic planning,
the process becomes an eye-roll
for your team.
When to bring in outside help
If your firm has had years of stops and starts, this is not the time
to go it alone. You need to overcome biases and doubts within
your team. They may have seen time wasted over the years talking
about ideas with no action. An outside party will help you set
action plans in place and hold your team accountable.
The right person will do a proper discovery on your business
model to uncover hidden threats and historical sticking points.
They will walk alongside your team to facilitate necessary change
and accountability.
Let’s face it. Every business goes through a slump from time
to time. These are the times when strategic planning is critical.
You need to step back and determine how to position your firm
moving forward. You need your best people involved to share
concerns, improve efficiencies and make real change happen.
The missing component is the action plan. When your team sees
ideas coming to fruition you will see a spike in morale, trust and a
renewed sense of enthusiasm.
90-Day Action Plans and KPIs
We suggest 90-day action plans with key performance indicators
(KPIs). A 90-day action plan sets your strategies in motion with
a sense of urgency. Your annual plan sets your larger goals;
however, it gives your team 12 months to procrastinate.
Teams can focus more easily on 90-days at a time. Your
90-day action plan includes the necessary steps to
achieve your strategies, who is responsible for each
action, and the due date for each action.
Finally, your 90-day plan should include key performance
indicators. These are measurable benchmarks to assure the
plan is working.
Plan tracking
Tracking plan progress with your team on a weekly or bi-
weekly basis helps identify problem areas and achievements.
It determines if success is happening by seeing a measurable
increase or decrease in activity.
Anytime you focus on new strategies, the implementation
phase may turn out to be more challenging than expected. You
might lack the resources, systems or training to get to the finish
line. This is not the time to bail on your plan.
Challenges will be uncovered through action planning and will
give you the push to work through them. This may involve making
changes to your systems or your team — and that is okay. These
changes may be historical sticking points that have been plaguing
your firm for years. You can’t fix something if you hide from it or
don’t know it’s broken.
When firms focus solely on a strategic plan without a plan for
implementation, complacency and procrastination take hold.
When you focus on action plans and implementation on a regular
basis, velocity takes hold. Bringing your team together to build a
strategic plan is great; but, bringing your team together regularly
to implement strategies is the real accomplishment.
If you find yourself in June and you want to resurrect your
strategic plan, focus on your key strategies and build a 90-day
action plan to get moving. Meet regularly with your team and
start tackling the necessary actions. Implementation of the right
activities will always lead to positive results.
When ideas come to fruition,
you will see a spike in
morale, trust and a renewed
sense of enthusiasm.
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