Getting the Best Results
As you work through the steps of the strategic planning process, keep the following considerations and guidelines in mind:
Carefully determine and communicate the boundaries of the organization to be assessed.
Clearly specify what each participant should consider "the organization." Should they think only of their own department? Their division? The entire organization?
Determine, clarify, and communicate the goals of the assessment.
Make it clear to everyone which issues are of greatest concern to management. Are there specific problems the organization hopes to address? In what areas does it strive to be more proactive? Does it seek to better understand what its primary market may be like two years from now?
For ethical reasons, you will also need to be explicit about how the results of the assessment will be used.
Prepare participants for taking the assessment.
In order for everyone to participate with open minds and without fear, they must know from top management exactly what the process is; what it hopes to get out of it; what follow-up management is willing to guarantee; and how each part of the process contributes to the overall effort. They must also know - and be able to trust - that all their answers and scores will be kept confidential or anonymous.
Assure all participants that there are no wrong answers.
Each person's view influences how they work and what they expect to happen in the organization. By definition, then, people's expectations are powerful and real (though not necessarily accurate), and need to be respected.
Help people to fill out the assessment honestly, completely, and thoughtfully.
People need privacy, adequate time, a reasonably comfortable space, and an open atmosphere so that they do not feel they must answer according to some specific view. This is a critical part of the process, yet it is often overlooked or seen as unimportant.
Emphasize consensus in creating a common profile.
The common profile should reflect the opinion of the group as a whole - including any dissenting views. However, creating this profile should not be a voting exercise. It should be a learning and sharing activity without undue influence from any one person.
Tabulate all scores from all relevant units; then distribute them to everyone in those units. Also give these people the composite scores and common profile from the strategic planning sessions.
The scores in one unit or department may differ significantly from those in another, so people need to see both the larger picture and the differing views of their colleagues.
In addition, if a small but significant number of people in several departments share the same viewpoint or concern, this process increases their likelihood of being listened to and taken seriously.
Develop clear, detailed recommendations.
Top management needs to make the results of this process part of the organization's strategic plan. These results should take the form of recommendations that specify what needs to happen to the organization's market position; what strategies will be undertaken to get to that position; and what will happen to specific projects, products, or services.
In addition, a vision needs to be developed and articulated that shows what needs to happen within the organization in order for the strategic plan to succeed. This should include specific changes in organizational structure, practices, and culture - all explained in sufficient detail to show how everyone will be affected, how they will fit into the modified organization, and how they will be able to contribute to the new goals.
Lastly, top management needs to be clear and detailed about the changes that will be made in the system at the top, and how people at lower levels will form their own processes to implement changes according to the plan.
Show that you're serious; lead from the top.
Everything suggested in this section needs to be driven by a central team and coached by a top manager. Furthermore, the person at the top of the organization needs to champion the whole process, in accordance with the best practices for managing change.
