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Strategic Planning Best Practice 1 – Make the Mission Measurable

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Best PracticeAn organization’s mission statement defines its purpose, its reason for being. These statements, however, tend to be broad and somewhat vague; making it difficult to identify the specific products, services, initiatives, and people that will most directly enable the organization to achieve its purpose.

Making the mission measurable provides the added clarity needed to focus decisions and drive actions toward achievement of the organization’s purpose. The mission is translated into a time-bound measure of performance rather than a specific goal. The value of competing alternatives can then be evaluated against the measure; offering executives and managers a mission contribution basis for the selection and pursuit of specific business opportunities.

About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Forum

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning IntroductionA company’s true value is largely determined by its long-term performance potential as shaped by management’s decisions made today. These decisions guide the translation of the company’s mission, its purpose for existing, into the products and services it provides and hopefully the market wants.

Strategic planning is an iterative, ongoing process consisting of:

  • Analysis: assessment of the internal and external factors effecting the organization’s ability to achieve its mission
  • Alternative Development: detailed assessment of the costs, benefits, and risks associated with strategic alternatives including both major, ongoing and newly proposed activities
  • Alternative Selection: identification of the current portfolio components and proposed activities that will be pursued and the time frame for execution
  • Resource Projections: aggregation of the personnel, financial, physical, and technological needs including an assessment of the ability to acquire these resources within the needed time frame
  • Plan Development: final validation of the organization’s mission and compilation and approval of its long-range and annual business plans

Execution of these iterative processes takes place throughout the year with a frequency dictated by the pace of market change.

Focus of the Strategic Planning Forum

This forum will focus on the principles, best practices, and warning flags associated with the leading practices of companies that successfully execute strategic planning processes to define objectives, drive alignment, and enhance performance. The following articles, podcasts, documents, and resources cover those topics critical to an exceptional strategic planning program.

Articles

Principles

Best Practices

Warning Flags

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor Articles

StrategyDriven Podcasts

StrategyDriven Podcast

StrategyDriven Podcast – Video Edition

StrategyDriven Podcast – Special Edition

Documents

Whitepapers

  • Analysis    [StrategyDriven Premium Content]

Models

Resources

Books

Management – Introduction

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StrategyDriven Management articlesThe terms management and leadership are often used interchangeably and managers are frequently assumed to be leaders. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The function of the manager, and therefore the definition of management, is to direct or supervise the resources under his or her charge to the accomplishment of managed group’s assigned work. This occurs through assigning individual tasks, allocating non-personnel resources, setting performance standards, monitoring performance, providing reinforcing and corrective feedback, and making ongoing adjustments as needed to ensure the on-time and on-budget completion of the managed group’s work.

Leaders are individuals of impeccable character, unquestioned integrity, and unwavering selflessness that endear followers and inspire trust. They possess a clear and vivid vision that they communicate to others who subsequently choose to support achievement of the vision. Leaders motivate and inspire followers to achieve more individually and collectively. Leadership is a quality of the person and not a right of the position – anyone can be a leader.

Therefore, while a manager can also be a leader, a manager is not necessarily a leader. Likewise, leaders do not necessarily hold management positions.

Articles in the Management category are dedicated to discussing the principles of successful management and leadership within the following topical areas:

  • Communications
  • Decision-Making
  • Leadership Inspirations
  • Management & Leadership
  • Standards & Expectations

Welcome!

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Welcome to StrategyDriven, the website dedicated to providing executives and managers with the planning and execution tools needed to create greater organizational alignment and accountability for achievement of superior results.

We believe creation of a clear, forward-looking strategy, translatable to the day-to-day activities of all organization members, is critical to realizing success in today’s fast paced market environment. Not only does a compelling, well executed strategy align individuals to a common purpose, it ensures that purpose best serves the company’s mission.

On the StrategyDriven website, you’ll find whitepapers, models, templates, process flows, and discussion forums related to the programs and activities necessary to create and execute your organization’s vision of success. Complementing these resources is The Accountable Organization Podcast, focused on the subset of programs and activities directed at shaping the organization’s behavior toward the continuous pursuit of excellence and mission accomplishment.