An Executable Strategy for Every Employee

An Executable Strategy for Every Employee – Only a Few Days Away By Francis Wade

These materials may not be reproduced, publicly displayed, or used to create derivates products in any form without prior written permission from: Framework Consulting Inc. 3389 Sheridan Street #434 Hollywood, FL 33021 954-447-4412 www.fwconsulting.com Š 2003 Framework Consulting Inc.

Executable Strategy for Every Employee

Perhaps you have heard some of the following questions from those you supervise, from your colleagues, or even in your own thoughts: “Where is the company going? Why are we all operating from different pages? How can we be successful with everyone doing their own thing? If these questions are familiar, then the odds are that your company does not have an executable strategy .

There may be a strategy somewhere, but it exists in a form that no-one but the executives can understand, or it exists in a book on a shelf that no-one bothers to read. Even worse, it could be a secret that only the executives are privy to, and no-one else in the company is allowed to see.”

Whichever one, it clearly is not the kind of strategy that could inspire the great majority of employees to make different choices, or to change their behaviour, or to create new projects for themselves to fulfill the strategy. Yet, that seems to be what employees are requesting: a new kind of strategy that involves them and calls them to take actions that are unpredictable, yet at the same time create an impact.

At this point, many managers’ eyes glaze over, not from a lack of wanting this kind of strategy but because their past attempts have been so… lacking . What is lacking is the very ingredients that they and their employees want.

Here is the problem as it faces the manager.

1. We need alignment among ALL employees: “It’s not enough that I know in my head where the company is going. I need a strategy to guide the company (in fact my employees need it as much as I do). We have way too much untapped potential.

2. I have a short time-frame: “We don’t have a lot of time to do this – 4 days at the most.” And, we need to start within the month!”

3. We have limited resources: “We can’t afford to develop a strategy that requires a great deal of research, either conducted by ourselves or by outsiders. We need to build on and use what we already know, and cannot not spend the time to have outsiders learn the nuances of our business, and then tell us what to do.”

4. We must be able to repeat the process: “The process must be repeatable – we must learn how to do it in a way that allows us to revisit or amend the strategy whenever we see the need.”

5. I need all participants to be fully engaged, with top quality thinking: “Our thinking must be rigorous, as weak logic will only set us back. Each executive must be fully engaged, and share their point of view. No-one owns a monopoly on the strategy – not even the CEO.

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Executable Strategy for Every Employee

Any one of these five criteria are enough to send even the most seasoned CEO into an anxious tailspin. In the past, strategic planning exercises have not been productive, nor have they been successfully implemented. So reluctance to plan strategically is understandable, given how unproductive their past efforts have been.

What does a manager or executive need to do?

Our experience at Framework Consulting tells us that the five objectives listed above are attainable, employing the elements listed below: •

Employ a strong but relatively uninformed facilitator 4 days or less? Use a strong facilitator. Don’t even think about having an executive team-member play the role – don’t waste their time.

The facilitator also must play a critical role that no executive can play – that of ignorant outsider to the executive team. In this way the facilitator represents the average employee, and listens as if they know little or nothing about the business – in fact, they don’t. Don’t develop a Harvard PhD strategy – unless you work there!

Strong facilitation means ensuring that every voice is heard, and that no one person dominates.

•

Produce Instant results It is now entirely possible to create a complete strategy within 4 days (for groups of less than 10 managers or executives) by using some of the latest techniques, and newest technologies, namely: a) The Strategy Mapping technique developed by Dr. Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton (authors of The Balanced Scorecard and The StrategyOriented Corporation) provides a powerful method of getting the strategy down to one page that anyone could understand. b) The use of laptops, LCD projectors and powerful software can help teams to create a strategy that can literally be shared with an entire company the day after it has been developed.

•

Tap into the best thinking A good facilitator can push the team to use its best thinking, employing sound common sense and avoiding the tendency for groups to default to old habits of relating and communicating that allow logic to be downplayed in favor of seniority or power.

•

Start from over the horizon To break out of the box defined by today’s reality, create a vision that is “over the horizon” using what is called “The Merlin Process,” invented by Dr. Charles Smith. Most visions are created by extrapolating from the current state to some future state. Instead, Merlin Visions are created from the end-point – from the

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Executable Strategy for Every Employee

future – and brought back step by step to today’s reality. Think about a 30 or 50 year vision for your firm, and work back in increasingly smaller increments until you have a multi-year plan in specific detail for each year you choose to define.

What is the result of using the above elements? -- a robust plan completed within 4 days, that can be presented to the employees and gain their alignment. In fact, the only limit to starting the process on short notice is the availability of the executive team and the facilitator to agree on the time to actually have the meeting. If that is truly the only obstacle, then a strategy that engages the employees, and each of the executives, could only be a few days away.

Note: A slightly modified version of this paper was published in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper under the title “Connecting with Every Employee,” on Thursday May 15, 2003.

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