Is your strategic plan delivering maximum results?

Is your time limited? Is your focus on the day to day tasks required just to do business? You are not alone! Many owners, managers, and leaders get overwhelmed by putting out daily fires, problem solving, and completing the necessary tasks to make the next sale. Because of this they are unable to take the time to create and implement a strong vision for their company, employees, and customers.

Every successful organization has created a plan to drive positive results. While a plan is required to deliver success, many people fail to take the first steps to create one. It takes a lot of time to research strategies, write a plan, and execute it in a measurable way that can later be adapted for greater success.

So, what are the steps to creating a successful plan?

First, do the research! It is vital to start with a deep dive into your current status as an organization. This series of exercises will reveal a lot about your organization internally, how you see the outside world, and how the outside world sees your company. The goal of this process is to think critically about the unmet needs of your customers, whether the customers are distribution partners or end users.

After you have acquired this data, it is time to determine the core purpose of your organization to your current and future customers. If someone asked each person in your organization to describe what your company does and stands for, would they have the same answer? It is very likely that each person would provide a different generic statement about making great products or having the best quality. In order to create a unified response, create a clear and concise Vision or “Purpose” Statement that presents the company’s value proposition effectively. Once the Purpose Statement is established it can be used for messaging, branding, and deliverables of product performance.

Now that you have completed the research phase it is time to build the plan! One commonly used process that allows for various adjustments based on customer needs is OGSIM. OGSIM is a five-step process consisting of Objectives, Goals, Strategies, Initiatives, and Measurements. These five steps combine to create a foundation of what is relevant for overall success:

O - Objectives are strategic, over-arching ideals that are central to the business. Often called “Pillars,” objectives can include things such as Maximizing Financial Performance, Achieving Market Penetration, and Organizational Effectiveness, to name a few.

G – Goals should be specific and attainable. It is recommended to include a percentage or dollar amount in goals so that they can be measured later using KPIs. It is also helpful to include a timeline on goals to determine their success.

S – Strategies, or key strategies, are policies or plans of action critical to completing goals. Most are also key support items to drive the behavior necessary to achieve results for the Objectives and Goals.

I – Initiatives are tactical details of execution used to build upon the key strategies. Initiatives can be used to set priorities in reference to the Objectives and Goals. They often give direction and focus.

M – Measurements are arguably the most important part. Each of the previous steps must be measured in some way in order to determine their effectiveness and success. It is important to keep a detailed record of each of the steps along the way. Again, KPIs can be used to measure success so that adaptions and changes can be made in order to improve.

The final step of creating a successful plan is execution. All items cannot be completed simultaneously, so prioritize what needs to happen in what order. This is particularly important with the Strategies and Initiatives since they directly feed into the team’s workload and directly display the organization’s progress. Developing the previously mentioned KPIs will provide a measuring tool and milestones. Remember to use the positive results to energize the entire team!