ARTICLE
TEXT:
"THE
PLAN IS TO PLAN"
Two
words. That's all it takes in business for the inert to
become action.
It's
a short shift from a noun to a verb.
Most
organisations have a plan (a noun). Few of those are fully
understood, embraced and implemented. The real learning,
progress, fun and achievements are derived from the investment
in and the commitment to plan (a verb).
Former
Untied States of America President and World War
II military strategist, General
Dwight D. Eisenhower once said:
“Plans
are nothing. Planning is everything.”
PLANNING
DEFICIENCY
One
notable deficiency of an overwhelming majority of business
plans is the lack of a goal to regularly plan. Accordingly,
most planning documents are frozen in a given point in time,
most often in the past. Few are regularly updated and refined.
The dynamics of economies and marketplace quickly ensure
that such become obsolete and irrelevant.
It
seems mad not to commit to and schedule regular planning
sessions.
Dr
Roger Smith, Professorial Fellow at the University of Western
Australia in his publication “Management Allsorts”, quoted
the theorist Nietzsche, who declared:
“Madness
is the exception in individuals but the rule in groups.”
A
cause of much frustration and the measure of madness within
organisations is the oft stated comment by participants
at the conclusion of planning sessions..... “Good, that's
over. Let's get back to work.”
Wrong!
Effective planning is the essence of productive work and
development. The activity provides, or should provide a
framework to question, review, refine, update and replace
established philosophies, practices and ultimately, outputs.
THE
CHALLENGE
Good
planning is challenging and often confronting. It should
be a fun experience and is fundamental to integrating efforts,
securing commitments from team members, fostering pride
and informing those in the entire network.
Accordingly,
planning and its consequences should not be limited to a
select few. The content of the planning process must not
become privileged or an instrument utilised in the exercise
of power.
Consistently,
the best performing entities are those that have open channels
of communication which share information and invite feedback,
input and analyses from the full spectrum of departments,
locations and people.
Highly
structured organisations, with structures which impede information
flow and exchange inevitably suffer. In such cases information
is not allowed to be progressed to intelligence. Military
leaders like Eisenhower, Monash and Montgomery knew the
value of intelligence, and utilised it adroitly.
BONDING
RETREATS
The
conduct of bonding retreats for management teams has been
a regular event for numerous companies and entities.
High
rope exercises and team building activities are typically
fun, a break from the routine of work and can be insightful
learning experiences. Their frequency has fallen since the
onset of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. Another casualty
of budget belt tightening.
Widespread
anecdotal evidence shows that the most effective means for
company team members to bond, to become motivated and to
give commitment to the ideals and objectives of the entity
is participation in periodic, goal orientated planning sessions.
CONFIDENTIALITY
ASSURED
Counter-intuitively,
respect for the confidentiality of the issues addressed
and the goals, objectives and targets set in planning sessions
is increased by broadening the numbers involved in the planning
process.
It
is a consequence of “shared ownership” of the resultant
document and commitment to the attainment of the established
milestones and performance measures.
MEASURE
OF SUCCESS
Effective
planning processes and planning documents detail quantifiable,
monitorable goals, assign authority, responsibility and
accountability to individuals and groups, specify time horizons
and facilitate and encourage ongoing revision, refinement
and development.
STARTING
POINT
How
ironic. Most planning documents are long on outcomes and
goals.
Too
few focus on and determine the starting points.
As
a result, the WHY question in the planning process can be
left unresolved.
Consideration
will typically be given to WHAT needs to be done and most
time, effort and resources are dedicated to HOW the goals
will be achieved.
The
emphasis and outcomes need to be inverted for a truly actionable
plan.... that is a good starting point on which to conclude.
