I recently conducted a strategy education and workshop session for a client that was kicking off their annual budgeting cycle with an update to their strategic plan. They were looking to educate their team on what strategy is and use a destination strategy report and their own expertise to generate ideas for organizational objectives. The workshop reminded me how engaging this process can be with a focus on being organized, balanced, and actionable.
Strategy is Organized
Simply put, strategy is future planning. It’s not complicated. The purpose is to create a road map for your organization, so you know where you’re going and how to work together to get there. A strategy should include the following elements: vision, an inspiring aspiration for the future; mission, how your specific organization will work to achieve that vision; objectives, goals for your organization; measures and targets, the way you can measure success; and tactics, detailed steps on how to achieve those targets. Thoughtfully organizing your strategy will ensure stakeholders understand where you're heading and those involved will see how they help achieve your goals.
Strategy is Balanced
While we may want to fund all our employee's wants or meet every customer desire, a sustainable organization relies on a balanced approach, so no area gets too much attention while leaving others to deteriorate. A balanced strategy will have goals in all the following perspectives: Learning and Growth, or what can be called People and Culture, is your internal programs focused on employee development and reinforcing core values and culture; Business Process, or Running the Business, is the business operations side, the way you organize your processes and programs; Financial is how you manage the resources of your organization and create financial sustainability; and Customer describes the ways you deliver value to your customers. Similar to Nonprofits, most companies in the Destination and Venue Management space correctly place Customer at the top of the strategy map to demonstrate that their top priority is to the destination or community they are representing, not to shareholders in providing profitability.
Strategy is Actionable
When a strategy is balanced, well communicated, supported by shared beliefs and behaviors of core values and culture, it will help employees make decisions. It clarifies what they should be working toward and allows each of their individual talents to shine through in completing tasks and accomplishing goals. While not all employees will be able to recite all the details of the strategic plan, everyone should understand the big picture and know their role in accomplishing the vision and living out the mission.
"Culture eats Strategy for breakfast."
We can't discount the phrase 'Culture eats Strategy for breakfast'. To have a successful strategy, an organization must define its culture, support employees in understanding what is expected of them, and ensure that employees, especially managers, are accountable for their actions. Only on that foundation can a successful and sustainable strategy be built.
If you would like to know more about how to achieve an organized, balanced, and actionable strategic plan or discuss tools to define and reinforce your culture, let's chat. Connect with Brooke Adamson at Brooke@AdamsonConsultancy.com and call or text (704) 517-3755.
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