How will we get there?

The final of five fundamental questions:

With this post, you are now prepared to pull it all together and tackle the last question that unlocks your organization’s future value: How will we get there?

Now that we know our:

• • • Purpose
    • Core Values
    • Vision for the future, and
    • What will impede and propel us towards that vision

…we can confidently build our road map!

How will we get there?

These five simple words are easy to ask but very challenging to answer, even for the most experienced leader. To help us answer this question, here is some helpful context as you approach developing your strategic plan to unlock your organization’s future value. 

1) Know Yourself and Your Team

Each of us has our own way of doing things. As a certified Enneagram coach, I often use this assessment tool to help leaders and their teams understand each other.

Enneagram 8 leaders desire control within the process for the benefit of others and do it the way they want; Enneagram 7s believe it can be done in a host of ways and may change their approach during the process; Enneagram 2s gather lots of input and want to know what you think the best way to proceed as they engage others in the same way.

But the leader’s motivation is not the only component involved in getting the organization to where it wants to go.

In my recent eBook, on the four dynamics of highly effective teams, I outlined the importance of being centered on a unifying purpose, connected through relationships, agreed on and accountable for desired outcomes, and aligned on when and how to proceed. 

Here is an example. Arlen Lapp, my Little League baseball coach, understood this fundamental in guiding the Oilers to our victory in 1979. For coach Lapp, winning required that team members understand what each of us needed to do in order to meet the objectives of our position, the objectives of the inning, and the objectives of the game. We had to practice being a team. This meant knowing a little more about each other than the average team. We discovered each other’s strengths and weaknesses, how to get the best out of each other (and not the worst), and how to align around a unified purpose.

2) Tailor the Process to Your Organization

In my work with helping leaders develop strategic plans, I’ve noticed that the process of developing the strategic plan is often more important than the plan itself. Like clockwork, many leaders often ask “I need a plan to fix (insert their issue here), can you help me write the plan to do that?

My answer often surprises them…I don’t know, tell me more about what you see ahead of you.

This is why Process Consulting can be hard to understand at first. When we take a step back, take a deep breath, we tend to think in terms of systems, structures, and processes that have created what now has become stuck…and not necessarily the issue that is immediately in front of us creating the negative energy.

By taking your time to read this series of blogs is evidence that you are looking for a process approach and not a product approach. Way to go you! 

There are countless ways to render and write a strategic plan, but your process must be tailored to your leadership style and to your organization. Process Consulting is an essential aid in helping you make your vision for the future a reality.

3) Craft Your Unique Plan

During the process of strategic planning, it’s tempting to “check our brains at the door” and just do what we did last time. Each strategic plan must fit the nuances of the organization and its leaders—otherwise it’s not really a plan, it’s rinse, wash, and repeat. 

Implementing a unique plan is the best way to create the future value you seek for your organization. When your plan reflects your DNA (organizational mission, core values, and vision) combined with a deep understanding of what will propel you toward and impede you from reaching that vision, your strategic plan becomes the visible manifestation of who will do what by when. 

When those involved in the plan create the plan themselves, they are more apt to put the work into executing it, creating the future value you seek. Whether your strategic plan is on the back of an envelope, three pages, or 10 pages long, it really doesn’t matter. 

Congratulations!

We’ve come to the end of our series on Five Fundamental Questions That Unlock Your Organization’s Future Value. I hope that you have found this series helpful as you consider the future of your company and its future value.

If you have a thought or reflection that would improve this series, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to make it even better!

As always, if you would like to unpack your answers to these questions or the challenges you might be having to live into the future value of your organization, please feel free to call me at 616.516.9870 or email lons@designgroupintl.com.

If you would like to schedule a 30-minute discovery call please use this link. I’d be honored to listen and learn more about your organization and its future value!

Best,

Lon L. Swartzentruber
CEO, Design Group International
Senior Design Partner