Both resilient people and resilient organizations are able to plan strategically for the future. However, most of us have experienced a plan that either is abandoned before it is complete, does not achieve the desired outcome or just fails to inspire anyone to do anything differently. These past failures can make our future attempts seem like we are just going through the motions or worse, we might be tempted to skip the process all together. Instead, we can learn from past mistakes and develop a better plan. Here are three elements of a resilient strategic plan based on what I have learned:
- Adaptable: No matter the plan we, cannot predict the future. In fact, the only thing we can say for certain is that you will know more before you reach your goals than you did when you set them. A resilient plan takes that into account. Strategic plans are more than a to-do list. Good strategy needs to be focused enough to give you direction but adaptable enough to allow for growth.
- Value based: Remember, the culture of an organization is a reflection of its operationalized values. We cannot expect our culture to mirror our values, if we achieve our goals using strategies that don’t contain or that contradict those principles. In other words, it is not just about where you are going but who you will be when you get there. Strategies for how we reach our goals need to operationalize the values we want our organizational culture to reflect.
- Inclusive: Anyone involved in the execution of the plan, in an organization this should be everyone, should be involved in the plan. This does not mean we have a strategic planning meeting with 200 plus people. It does mean providing opportunities for input, communicating goals and objectives and developing a strategy framework that can be applied to all areas and individuals. Expecting only upper management to drive the strategy of your organization is a plan for failure.