The clarity provided by Roger Martin in his video “A Plan Is Not a Strategy” is very helpful. The strategy vs planning concept is not generally very well understood, but Roger’s video clearly and simply explains the difference extremely well. This difference is also a notion that we lean into heavily with our clients – but we also work hard to connect the two to facilitate better execution.
Importantly, in our view this is an “and” discussion not an “or” discussion. Strategy and planning both matter – and connecting the two is what creates an executable strategy.
Our strategy development phase is tailored for mid-market business owners and key leaders to unpack their collective thinking, challenge that thinking and then arrive at a clear, aligned view. This encourages clients to primarily focus on the following:
Before closing off the strategy development process, it’s important to start the planning process by ensuring the key leaders agree on a small handful of high-level objectives that are strategically important to help them take the next step on their journey. These objectives are also assigned to accountable leaders who will own their delivery.
Developing an executable strategy creates a strong platform – but it’s simply “a ticket to the game” with the main challenge still being the strategy execution that follows.
Even once an executable strategy has been captured, the critical next step is cascading the strategy into the business. This ensures functional or divisional leaders can align their teams with the key elements and objectives from the corporate strategy.
This essentially operationalises the strategy, breaking it down into actionable elements to make it more accessible to the leaders and their teams who will be responsible for delivering large chunks of these key objectives.
Done well this bridges the gap between strategy and planning and creates an accountability framework to help drive successful strategy execution. It is also a critical element that most businesses need substantial help with understanding and implementing. It requires, knowledge, expertise and experience to manage the process well, and is essential to help set the business up properly for good strategy execution.
If you’d like to know more about how we build the critical bridge between strategy and planning, please call us to chat further.
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