Preparing for Strategic Combat

Move Beyond “Strategic Planning”

It happened again. The summer planning season snuck up on you. And who could blame you? It’s not even the Fourth of July! That’s right—it’s getting close to that time of year when many organizations ask their leadership team to sequester themselves from the distractions of running the day-to-day aspects of your business. There’s good news, though—you already have your list of who will be part of the strategic planning process. Sales and marketing, technology, new product development, finance, everyone in the C-suite…all the usual suspects.

You can see the boardroom sessions already. Mary, your head of finance, will sit next to you; and Andrew, the head of IT, will sit next to her. Barry, the sales team leader, will try to sit closest to the door. That way, he can make a quick exit if he is saved from participating via a “higher priority” call from the field. (Higher priority than strategic planning? How is that even possible? These leaders should feel grateful for being able to participate in such a prestigious activity!)

The more you think about it, the less optimistic you become. As you look at the participant list, you see it’s the same leadership team that developed the last strategic plan. The same plan that has resulted in a solid “meets expectations” from the few meetings you’ve had with your board of directors so far. You’ve met your goals, but the winner in you wants to excel! Not only that, but you already know that expectations for next year will rise… 

How can you possibly expect different results from putting the same people in the same room? How can you increase the excitement level of your team so that they have new and different ideas? Change the venue? Change the people? Change the process? All of these are valid ways to amp up your planning process. But you know going to a nifty off-site location and adding some high-potential junior leaders to the mix won’t be enough to get distinctively different results.

It’s tempting to throw money at the problem by hiring a Big Three consulting firm to strategize for you, but you know that will only perpetuate the problem rather than help you solve it. You need a new approach—one that will get substantially better results, create enthusiasm in your team members and their employees, and eventually deliver better value to your customers and shareholders.

It’s Pervasive

Here’s the good news: You aren’t alone! In fact, Masters Alliance has worked with leaders like you for three decades to solve this exact problem. Surprisingly, it’s not only a problem inherent in large, mature, and successful organizations—it dogs most organizations from time to time.

Successful organizations grow comfortable in their success. You may have carefully managed and measured your way to efficiency and tapped all the low-hanging fruit of opportunity. Your team has been so internally focused it’s lost some of the unique attributes that come with a hunger for greatness. The edgy pace of your team has worn down to a comfortable, predictable rhythm. It’s time for a change. You know it, and you are certain your team knows it too.

Rather than respond with the predictable reorganization, realignment of resources, and reassignment of responsibilities, look beyond the faces at the table in that planning session. Consider the possibility your leadership team can come up with a new, exciting, energized plan!