STRATEGIC PLANNING

Shattered Myths

Myth 12: Companies become visionary primarily through “vision statements.”

Reality: Visionary Companies attained their stature not because they made visionary pronouncements, but because they succeeded in having their core values and purpose permeate the entire organization.

From “Built to Last”

Jim Collins and Jerry Porras

Planning the future of your organization is one of the most important steps you can take. It is imperative for any organization that is undertaking a Cultural Transformation process to insure that it's Senior Team is on board and supports the efforts that are about to be taken.

Often, Strategic Planning Retreats are conducted over a period of two days at some site away from the office. There are some activities about what the organization is going to Do, and an analysis of what will help the organization accomplish these activities, and those things that will hinder its success. The problem is, this is a backwards approach, especially in today's ever changing and fast-paced world. (see our article on this subject)

We take a different approach. We believe that it is far more important for organizations to have a solid understanding of what the core (the purpose, vision, and values) of the organization is. We call this "Being." Research shows that those organizations that have a clear understanding of their "Being" far outperform their competitors, and achieve phenomenal financial returns, even when this isn't their primary focus.

Once these organizations are solid in their "Being" they can then "Do". If you have a solid understanding of why your organization exists, what it does, who it serves, why it serves them, what values it follows, and where it is going, it then becomes very easy to make decisions about opportunities that arise and obstacles that occur. This kind of flexibility can't be found in a typical 5 year strategic plan!

But you can't accomplish this kind of understanding in a weekend. It takes a long-term process, and plenty of hard work. Our Strategic Planning Process^SM is different from most "retreats." To begin with, our process is accomplished over about a year or more, not just 2 days. Yes, we begin with 2 days away from the office, but that's where the similarities end. We have a proven approach that helps your top-level executives begin to explore how to become a team and then explore where they want to go and how they are going to get there.

Our Strategic Planning Process^SM is divided into two parts: a Team Quest™ and a Vision Quest™. These two components are designed to accomplish the "First who, then what" aspect that James Collins found in his research that he shared in his book Good to Great. Before you can determine your vision you must insure that your top-level executives are all on board and ready to do what it takes to become a high-performing organization.

To learn more about these two programs, you can click below or the buttons to the top left.

Team Quest™

Vision Quest™

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Last Modified: 25 February 2008