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Strategic planning is a pain! So, how can you make it more fun, more enjoyable?

I'm going to suggest something counter-intuitive. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝!

Yes, involve more people in the process of setting your plan. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, but find ways to go deeper into your organization to 𝐭𝐚𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭.

𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔:

🏃‍♀️ 𝐑𝐔𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒 - Form small teams to dive into key strategic questions where you have the biggest opportunities for growth or improvement. Give them 1 week and the time to gather data, and no more than 3 questions to explore. The answers will help direct decisions and the teams will feel part of the process.

👌 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐒 - Define key points in your strategic planning process to intentionally consult trusted customers. Ask their opinion on trends, competition, product decisions, etc. Customers will provide truth-testing to internal assumptions.

⚡ 𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐎-𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 - Invite a diverse set of stakeholders into the process (cross-functional, suppliers, customers, community). Facilitate live conversations on key strategic topics and use the inputs to guide direction and decisions. You'll widen your perspective and gain support at the same time.

All of these approaches, if done with honest listening and an open mind, will 𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 based on a wider data set.

Plotting your course as an organization is essential, but it doesn't have to be painful. Bring more people into the process. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

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𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 and it can be both energizing and overwhelming.
For most organizations this means thinking forward to 2025 and beyond.

If you are looking for a 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭. This is a collaborative and accelerated approach to developing your team's strategy or strategic inputs. It can be done at the team, department or whole-of-organization level and it takes 3 weeks.

𝑺𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌?

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 1: 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Assemble team, review current plans state, conduct market analysis, research challenges and opportunities.

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 2: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤
Interview stakeholders, identify themes and priorities, vision workshop, strategy development workshop.

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 3: 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Gather feedback, refine, develop OKRs and timelines, develop comms, present to key stakeholders and finalize plan.

The 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬. It's adaptable for organizations of all sizes and provides a framework for efficient, inclusive strategy development that addresses current challenges and future opportunities.

Can you do this? Absolutely. Any team can do a 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦, as input to the org strategy. You'll need to rally multiple stakeholders within the organzation, and most likely you'll need external help coordinating and facilitating the work.

The benefits are a 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 that can set a refreshed path for the future of your team, founded in reality and created through broad collaboration.

If you want to know what it's like to co-create, watch Peter Jackson's incredible documentary Get Back about the making of the Beatles' last album, Let It Be.

https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxx8oIi41Keva42bi__iyYmwQ3ln9Ou6EZ

Even with one of the greatest bands ever, co-creating can be incredibly difficult. In this three-part documentary you can watch the slow, messy and painful process of a team of incredibly talented humans come together to make brilliant music.

They missed their original deadline.
They fought and were barely able to stay together.
They had to get lots of outside help.
People not on their core team kept interrupting.
One team member quit. The team rallied and got him back on board.
There was enormous pressure to perform.

Ultimately, the group went through the messy, squiggly process of creation and drew on the unique creative talents of each band member, all their recording crew, the staff, their families and even the fans to create an amazing body of music.

What you see in this documentary is the creative process laid out raw in front of you. It's worth watching for inspiration. It's worth watching because it shows that, even though you might struggle when you are trying to co-create with others, the struggle is worth it and it can be a long and winding road, but you'll get there!

Clip from 'The Beatles: Get Back', directed by Peter Jackson, courtesy of Disney+ and Apple Corps Ltd.



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