A recent McKinsey Global Survey, completed in February 2010, showed that out of the 1,467 Executives surveyed, the majority expected their organisations to record a profit increase over the next twelve months, and less than fifty-percent of them expected their organisations to reduce costs over the same period.
With similar feedback being reported on a regular basis there is a feeling amongst many organisations that they have worked their way through the recession.
Yet, what now; organisations cannot afford to relax and pat themselves on the back for surviving the crisis. Now is the time to review and implement effective and efficient strategies for 2010 and beyond. As organisations recover, they will emerge in different states of readiness to take advantage of the changing market conditions.
Organisations need leaders at all levels to embrace the principles of effective strategic planning and implementation and an organisational culture that thrives on ensuring their strategies are constantly aligned to the business environment and are constantly challenging the status quo.
There are two questions that you should be able to ask any employee in your organisation; and the answers you get will tell you the effectiveness of your strategic process (planning and implementation). The two questions are (1) what are the organisations current strategic goals and (2) how, through what you do on a daily basis, do you contribute to these strategic goals.
So, if you asked the employees in your organisation or department, what percentage of them would know, without hesitation, the correct answers to both questions?
Remember as you plan for the year ahead, it isn’t the strategic process that has failed organisations, but organisations that have failed the strategic process. Organisational strategies will only be as good as the inputs and outputs used to develop them and the integrity of the individuals and teams who plan and implement them.
So strategy must be done right or not at all, if you want to take your Executives and/or Management away for a couple of days, then take them away – just don’t call it a strategic workshop as it gives strategy a bad name.
References
McKinsey Global Survey. Economic Conditions Snapshot, February 2010.
With similar feedback being reported on a regular basis there is a feeling amongst many organisations that they have worked their way through the recession.
Yet, what now; organisations cannot afford to relax and pat themselves on the back for surviving the crisis. Now is the time to review and implement effective and efficient strategies for 2010 and beyond. As organisations recover, they will emerge in different states of readiness to take advantage of the changing market conditions.
Organisations need leaders at all levels to embrace the principles of effective strategic planning and implementation and an organisational culture that thrives on ensuring their strategies are constantly aligned to the business environment and are constantly challenging the status quo.
There are two questions that you should be able to ask any employee in your organisation; and the answers you get will tell you the effectiveness of your strategic process (planning and implementation). The two questions are (1) what are the organisations current strategic goals and (2) how, through what you do on a daily basis, do you contribute to these strategic goals.
So, if you asked the employees in your organisation or department, what percentage of them would know, without hesitation, the correct answers to both questions?
Remember as you plan for the year ahead, it isn’t the strategic process that has failed organisations, but organisations that have failed the strategic process. Organisational strategies will only be as good as the inputs and outputs used to develop them and the integrity of the individuals and teams who plan and implement them.
So strategy must be done right or not at all, if you want to take your Executives and/or Management away for a couple of days, then take them away – just don’t call it a strategic workshop as it gives strategy a bad name.
References
McKinsey Global Survey. Economic Conditions Snapshot, February 2010.
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