Too often much time and energy is often spent developing strategies that are never, or only partly, deployed.
Symptoms of this occurring include:
- Once ‘announced’, objections to the strategy are raised
- Misunderstandings of the strategy occur
- Budgets and performance measures don’t align with the strategy
- The strategy changes with undue regularity
- External stakeholders don’t ‘buy in’ to the strategy
Not only is this a waste of time and energy, but also the whole strategic planning process may become discredited.
Though Michael understands strategic planning and processes, he doesn’t offer advice as a ‘strategist’. He firmly believes that the determination of an organisation’s strategy is the responsibility of the Board or equivalent body – it has to be owned by the client not him!
Michael’s approach will vary depending upon what stage his client has reached in developing its strategy; it could involve:
- Interviewing all the Board members
- Designing, issuing and collating responses to questionnaires
- Running workshops/away days to reach consensus on the strategy, objectives, actions etc. He firmly believes that his contribution is “running ‘away days’” and that they shouldn’t be “’running away’ days” when nothing occurs as a result
- Assisting with the monitoring of action plans