Michael Watkins wrote an interesting post “Demystifying Strategy: The What, Who, How, and Why“, he defines business strategy as:

“a set of guiding principles that, when communicated and adopted in the organization, generates a desired pattern of decision making….. A good strategy provides a clear roadmap, consisting of a set of guiding principles or rules, that defines the actions people in the business should take (and not take) and the things they should prioritize (and not prioritize) to achieve desired goals.”

In a nutshell, as illustrated below:

• Mission is about what will be achieved.
• The value network is about with whom value will be created and captured.
• Strategy is about how resources should be allocated to accomplish the mission in the context of the value network.
• Vision and incentives is about why people in the organization should feel motivated to perform at a high level.

Together, the mission, network, strategy, and vision define the strategic direction for a business. They provide the what, who, how, and why necessary to powerfully align action in complex organizations.

Related posts:

1. The Gap Between Strategy and Execution
2. Separating Strategy From Planning Conversations
3. 10 Principles of Strategy

To be effective it’s necessary for leaders to separate strategy from planning, separating the why and what from the how. This is necessary simply because strategy and planning require two different thinking styles which are not complementary. As highlighted in a post on management-Issues:

“Ever been in a strategy meeting where everybody was focusing on the how instead of the what? The main problem with that is strategy meetings are for discussing strategy (the what), not tactics (the how)…..”

Organisations need a strategy and a robust plan to support that strategy. Strategy helps to guide an organisations decision making and planning describe the details required to help navigate the journey. In the post the authors suggest the following three questions as a useful way of keeping strategic discussions productive:

• What results do you want? A certain percent of market share? “X” number of dollars in sales? “X” amount of increased profits? First things first: Identify the end results you want and don’t talk about anything else until you do. Be specific. What percentage of market share? How many dollars? How much profit?
• What must you do to achieve those results? You’re on a roll, keep brainstorming! Here are more examples: Need to identify demographics of widget buyers. Need to check trends and make widgets in colors that are currently fashionable. Must identify the reasons why people avoid buying widgets and find ways to address those issues. Need to explore marketing our widgets in partnership with a complementary product, etc. etc.
• What knowledge, skills, or attitudes must we acquire to do those things? … This question focuses on what you need to learn or be concerned about.

Trying to discuss planning or operational issues in strategic meeting leader to poor results. Wise leaders always separate strategic conversations from planning and operations. Do you have a social architecture that effectively separate these two conversations in your organisation or teams?

Related posts:

1. A Better Scheme for Strategic Planning
2. Eight Problems With Your Firm’s Strategic Plan
3. 10 Principles of Strategy

Setting effective objective to guide your team and organisation is very important for leader to get right. Badly formulated objectives will steer an organisation in the wrong direction. I found this 10 step approach to setting SMART objectives from the National Primary and Care Trust, it’s a great follow-on from my previous post.

1. Sort out the difference between objectives and aims, goals and/or targets before you start. Aims and goals etc relate to your aspirations objectives are your battle-plan. Set as many objectives as you need for success.
2. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.
3. Don’t try to use that order M-A/R-S-T is often the best way to write objectives.
4. Measurable is the most important consideration. You will know that you’ve achieved your objective, because here is the evidence. I will know too! Make sure you state how you will record your success.
5. Achievable is linked to measurable. Usually, there’s no point in starting a job you know you can’t finish, or one where you can’t tell if/when you’ve finished it. How can I decide if it’s achievable?
   • you know it’s measurable
   • others have done it successfully (before you, or somewhere else)
   • it’s theoretically possible (ie clearly not ‘not achievable’)
   • you have the necessary resources, or at least a realistic chance of getting them
   • you’ve assessed the limitations.
6. If it’s achievable, it may not be realistic. If it isn’t realistic, it’s not achievable.You need to know:
   • who’s going to do it?
   • do they have (or can they get) the skills to do a good job?
   • where’s the money coming from?
   • who carries the can?

   Realistic is about human resources/time/money/opportunity.

7. The main reason it’s achievable but not realistic is that it’s not a high priority. Often something else needs to be done first, before you’ll succeed. If so, set up two (or more) objectives in priority order.
8. The devil is in the specific detail. You will know your objective is specific enough if:
   • everyone who’s involved knows that it includes them specifically
   • everyone involved can understand it
   • your objective is free from jargon
   • you’ve defined all your terms
   • you’ve used only appropriate language.
9. Timely means setting deadlines. You must include one, otherwise your objective isn’t measurable. But your deadlines must be realistic, or the task isn’t achievable. T must be M, and R, and S without these your objective can’t be top-priority.
10. It is worth this effort! You’ll know you’ve done your job well, and so will others.

Related posts:

1. Setting SMART Objectives
2. 10 steps to happiness
3. Shape Your Communication by Asking Questions

Nothing happens until we plan and good plans have goals and objectives. Setting goals and objectives correctly provides the necessary context and support required to mange their implementation. Before we dive into the discussion on how to go about setting SMART objectives, it’s necessary to understand that there is an important of distinction between goals and objectives.

• Goals relate to our aspirations, purpose and vision. For example, I have a goal of becoming financially independent.
• Objectives are the battle plan, the stepping stones on the path towards the achievement of my goal. They are measureble and specific and can be used to guide actions.

A goal may consist of one or many specific objectives that would need to accomplished to successfully achieve the goal. For example, to become financially independent I would need to do the following 1) get out of debt, 2) improve the level of savings and 3) improve the level of my income.

The most well known method for setting objectives is by doing it the S.M.A.R.T. way, the SMART approach is well understood amongst managers, but is poorly executed. S.M.A.R.T refers to the acronym that describes the key characteristics of meaningful objectives, which are Specific (concrete, detailed, well defined), Measureable (numbers, quantity, comparison), Achievable (feasible, actionable), Realistic (considering resources) and Time-Bound (a defined time frame). Lets look at each of these characteristics in more detail.

Specific

Specific means that the objective is concrete, detailed, focused and well defined. That is the objective is straightforward, emphasizes action and the required outcome. Objectives must communicate what you would like to see happen. To help set specific objectives it helps to ask the following questions as guidance:

• WHAT am I going to do? This are best written using strong, action verbs such as conduct, develop, build, plan, execute, etc. This helps your objective to be action-orientated and focuses on what’s most important.
• WHY is this important for me to do?
• WHO is going to do what? Who else need to be involved?
• WHEN do I want this to be completed?
• HOW am I going to do this?

“The successful man is the average man, focused.” – Unknown

Diagnostic Questions

• What exactly are we going to do, with or for whom?
• What strategies will be used?
• Is the objective well understood?
• Is the objective described with action verbs?
• Is it clear who is involved?
• Is it clear where this will happen?
• Is it clear what needs to happen?
• Is the outcome clear?
• Will this objective lead to the desired results?

Achievable

Objectives need to be achievable, if the objective is too far in the future, you’ll find it difficult to keep people motivated over the long term. Objectives must be achievable to keep you motivated. However, keeping a good balance is important, whilst being obtainable, objectives still need to stretch you, but not so far that you become frustrated and lose motivation.

Diagnostic Questions

• Can we get it done in the proposed timeframe?
• Do I understand the limitations and constraints?
• Can we do this with the resources we have?
• Has anyone else done this successfully?
• Is this possible?

Realistic

Objectives that are achievable, may not be realistic. That being said, realistic does not mean easy. Realistic means that you have the resources necesssary to get the job done. The achievement of an objective requires resources, such as, people, money, skills, equipment and knowledge required to support the tasks required to achieve the objective. Most objectives are achievable but, may require a change in your priorities to make them happen.

Diagnostic Questions

• Do you have the resources available to achieve this objective?
• Do I need to revisit priorities in my life to make this happen?
• Is it possible to achieve this objective?

Measurable

If the objective is measurable, it means that the measurement source is identified and we are able to track the results of our actions, as we progress towards achieving the objective. Measurement is the standard used for comparison. For example, what financial independence means to me, may be totally different to what it means for you. As is so often quoted, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it! Importantly, measurement help us to know when we have achieved our objective.

Diagnostic Questions

• How will I know that the change has occurred?
• Can these measurements be obtained?

Time-Bound

Time-bound means setting deadlines for the achievement of the objective. Deadlines create an all important sense of urgency. If you don’t set a deadline, you will reduce the motivation and urgency required to execute tasks. Deadlines create the necessary focus, helps set priority and prompts action.

Diagnostic Questions

• When will this objective be accomplished?
• Is there a stated deadline?

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Unknown

No related posts.

Here are some good questions, from the American Planning Association, that can be used as a sanity check for your strategic planning process:

1. Does our process produce a plan that’s “real?”
2. Is our plan “strategic?”
3. Do we have adequate external focus?
4. Do we make sufficient use of outsiders?
5. Does our plan really work for the organization?
6. Is our plan actionable?
7. Is anybody doing anything?
8. Are we getting lost in executing tactics, but missing the big picture?

Related posts:

1. A Better Scheme for Strategic Planning