Strategic Planning - University of Floridaextadmin.ifas.ufl.edu/.../docs/IFAS-StrategicPlanning2016.pdfStrategic Thinking Insight Foresight Analysis Judgment ... Strategic Planning

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Presented by: Edith GandyUF Executive Education

Strategic PlanningCreating the Future

© 2014 TriSource Associates- All Rights Reserved

Strategic Thinking

Insight

Foresight

JudgmentAnalysis


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Strategic Planning

Vision and Mission

Why?

Tactics

How?

Strategy

What?


Strategic Thinking vs. Strategic Planning• A strategic plan is only a part of the strategy

process; an organization's actual strategies (and their execution) lie in the decisions and thinking behind the choices on a day-to-day basis.

• Strategic thinking enables leaders to act in ways that manage the tension between success in daily tasks and success in the long term.


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Strategic Thinking

• Compared to the routine, “auto-pilot thinking” we often do when dealing with day-to-day issues, strategic thinking is intended to be more big-picture, deeper, broader and moreobjective.


Strategic Thinking

• Leaders who have technical expertise but can’t or don’t think strategically are like ships without a navigation system.

• They drift around in one direction after another trying to chase opportunities and avoid problems… but without having charted the way to navigate to the desired location.


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Strategic Thinking

• In a times of change, leaders who don’t think strategically can be more like ships in a tsunami – unable to reach their desired destination and at risk of being overtaken by forces for which they did not plan and which they cannot control.


Strategic Thinking

• Most of us are trained to think tactically rather than strategically. That’s because most of our formal education teaches specific disciplines: accounting, math, grammar, etc.

• A very small percentage of most people’s education and training focuses on “big-picture” thinking.


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Strategic Thinkers1. Predict and anticipate

2. Think critically

3. Interpret facts, but don’t ignore feelings

4. Are curious and creative

5. Communicate and collaborate

6. Balance facts and experience with creativity and intuition

7. Don’t lose sight of the big picture

8. Don’t fall prey to “rear-view mirror” thinking.


Rear-View Mirror Thinking

• In the years before the downturn in the real estate market, many lenders and investors were examples of “rear-view mirror” thinking. They were under the conventional (and false) assumption that real estate had always increased in value and therefore would continue to do so.


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Rear-View Mirror Thinking

• Had lenders and investors thought more strategically in analyzing trends and questioning assumptions, perhaps the mortgage meltdown would not have happened.

• Are there examples of rear-view thinking in your world?


Challenging Mindsets

• Strategic thinkers challenge conventional thinking and “the way we’ve always done things around here.” They know there is often more than one right way to achieve objectives.

• Challenging mindsets includes challenging your own mindset and recognizing that doing things your way may not always be the best way.


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Strategic vs. Tactical Thinking

• Strategic thinking is focused on doing the right things.

• Tactical thinking is focused on doing those things right.

“There is nothing more wasteful than becoming highly efficient at doing the wrong things.”

Peter Drucker


Strategy Creation

• Strategy creation is strategic thinking for the purpose of developing a plan of action that will guide an organization’s sustainability and create value for its stakeholders.

• Strategy creation is about fully understanding what you do (and for whom), what you want to become, and most importantly, focusing on how you plan to get there.


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Strategy Creation

• Strategy creation is also about what you don’t do; it draws necessary boundaries and defines the scope of an organization’s reach and intentions.

• This keeps the organization from setting goals that are too ambitious or are outside of the organization’s core mission and capabilities.


Strategy Creation

• A sound strategy, skillfully implemented, identifies the goals and direction that leaders and people at every level in the organization need in order to define their work, achieve results and make the organization successful.


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Strategy Creation

• Well-developed strategy is a survival mechanism…a way for an organization to consider trends, anticipate opportunities and threats and to develop and use their strengths and advantages to capitalize on opportunities and overcome threats.

• Poorly developed strategy can have the opposite effect.


Exercise

• What are some examples of organizations that experienced setbacks or failures because they failed to anticipate and plan for threats and challenges?

• In thinking about “ups” and “downs” you have experienced in the past year, were there unanticipated threats and challenges you had to deal with? How did you handle them? Were there lessons learned?


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Why Strategy Matters1. Creates Organizational Focus

2. Drives Creativity and Innovation

3. Increases Productivity

4. Provides Decision Clarity

5. Shapes Allocation of Resources

6. Guides Operational Planning

7. Drives Talent Management

8. Creates the Change Agenda

9. Others?


Strategy Creation

• Strategy creation typically begins with thoughtful preparation, followed by a management session that zeroes in on the top strategic priorities the organization needs to address to achieve its mission, vision and objectives.

• After the management session, action plans are created for each issue. Once action plans are developed processes are put in place for their implementation.


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The Strategy ProcessVision, Mission,

&Values

GapCurrent State

Strategy Creation

Desired State

ImplementationTactics

Strengths &Weaknesses

(Internal)

Opportunities &Threats

(External)

Pg. 5


Strategic Planning

10 Steps in the Process:1. Revisit and validate mission and vision2. Critically examine existing strategies and

tactics3. Assess events and trends 4. Creatively examine strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats.5. Determine the current state of the

organization vs. the desired state.


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Strategic Planning

10 Steps in the Process:6. Engage in ideation generate ideas to close

the gap between the current state and the desired state.

7. Develop and prioritize strategies8. Determine how to clearly communicate the

organization’s strategy 9. Drive execution through action planning,

change management and accountability.10. Review progress and make adjustments on

an ongoing basis© 2014 TriSource Associates- All Rights Reserved

Step 1

• Revisit and validate mission and vision

o Are vision and mission still valid

o Are they expressed in a way that enables a clear understanding of the organization’s purpose?

o Are there any changes or revisions that could make the vision and mission more powerful?


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FILL IN STEP 1 ON THE PLANReview the Vision and Mission


Step 2

• Critically examine existing strategies and tactics.

o What worked well and what did not (ups and downs)

o What helpful insights can be gained?

o If we had it to do over again, what would we do differently or better?

o What strategies and/or tactics do we need to: Stop - Start - Continue – Improve?


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FILL IN STEP 2 ON THE PLANUps and Downs. Stop, Start and Continue


Step 3

• Assess events and trends (PEST Analysis)

o What political events or trends may influence and/or shape future direction?

o What economic events or trends should be considered?

o What societal events or trends may affect us?

o What technological events or trends need to be factored into decision-making?


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FILL IN STEP 3 ON THE PLANPEST Analysis


Step 4

• Creatively examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

o Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and threats

o Has SWOT changed or remained essentially the same from year to year?

o Can you think of creative ways to capitalize on strengths and opportunities and overcome weaknesses and threats?


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Looking Inward & Outward

• The process of strategy creation looks at big-picture goals that tie back to the organization’s vision and mission.

• Those goals are developed in the light of both the external environment and the organization’s internal capabilities…in other words leaders crafting strategy must carefully look inward and outward.


PEST

• Opportunities and threats are often further examined through a PEST analysis that takes a detailed look at trends that may affect the organization’s strategy.

• PEST stands for political trends, environmental trends, social trends and technological trends.


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FILL IN STEP 4 ON THE PLANSWOT Analysis


Step 5

• Determine the current state of the organization vs. the desired state.

o In terms of the key success factors or outcomes you are expected to achieve, what is your office’s current state?

o What is your desired state?

o How does the current state differ from the desired state?


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Current vs. Desired GridHigh

Low


Current vs. Desired GridHigh

Low

.

. . . .

. . . .

.

. . .

. . . . . . .

Circus E

xam

ple

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Instructions for Canvas

• List your office’s “Critical Success Factors” at bottom of each column. In red put a dot in the box for the current state from high to low.

• Put the desired state dots in black.

• Connect the red dots with a red line to form a graph. Then connect the black dots with a black line to form a graph.


FILL IN STEP 5 ON THE PLANGap Analysis


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Step 6

• Ideation. What ideas do we have that will enable us to close the gap between the current state and the desired state?

o Focus on the goal of driving higher value for stakeholders and more effective utilization of resources.

o Use ideation, brainstorming and “role storming” to generate ideas


Ideation

• Idea generation

• Idea development

• Idea evaluation

• Idea selection

• Idea implementation


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Ou

t-o

f-th

e-B

ox

Th

ink

ing

Seek to Copy Best

Practices

Seek to Create

Best Practices

Seek to Meet

Standards Set by

Similar

Organizations

Seek to Set the

Standards Similar

Organizations

Aspire to Meet

Ideation and Creativity

In-t

he

-Bo

x T

hin

kin

g


Brainstorming

• Set expectations

• Unplug from distractions

• Document all ideas

• Make sure everyone has a chance to contribute

• Withhold judgment and criticism

• Don’t get too attached to your own ideas

• Combine and improve ideas

• Stay focused


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Role Storming

• Role storming is brainstorming in character.

• Each member of the team takes on the persona or perspective of someone else in order to “vet” ideas from others’ perspectives.

• This technique helps people to consider ideas from different angles and other points of view.


Points of View

The Disney Approach:• Disney uses a role storming approach to strategic

thinking; one that is intended to spark creativity while also “vetting” decisions by looking at them from different perspectives.

• Leaders are expected to formulate and evaluate strategies through three separate “lenses:”

• The Dreamer

• The Realist

• The Critic


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Dreamer

• The Dreamer’s role is one of “imagineering” – of free association, brainstorming and even fantasizing.

• “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.”

Albert Einstein


Realist

• The realist focuses on putting the dreams into a real-world context; on the realistic chances of actually making them happen.


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Critic

• The role of the critic is that of testing the soundness of idea’s beyond what the realist has done; playing devil’s advocate and identifying obstacles impacting the odds of successful execution.


FILL IN STEP 6 ON THE PLANIdeation


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Step 7

• Develop and prioritize strategies

o Draw on the collective knowledge of the team to look at ideas, options and alternatives.

o Determine the extent to which ideas are: Compatible with mission, vision and core

values

Feasible – realistically able to be implemented

Desirable – meet a need or solve a problem

Viable – the value outweighs the cost


FILL IN STEP 7 ON THE PLAN

Prioritized Strategies (Compatible, Feasible, Desirable, Viable)


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Step 8

• Determine how to clearly communicate the organization’s strategy and value proposition to all stakeholders.


Communication

• Communication includes the capacity to consult and gain insight from others, especially stakeholders. It requires keeping an open mind and allowing yourself to be influenced.

• In communicating with stakeholders, it is important to plan communication by analyzing who needs what level of communication, especially when it is time to execute the strategy.


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Stakeholders

High InfluenceLow Interest

Keep Reasonably Informed

High InfluenceHigh Interest

Manage Closely; Consult, Inform Regularly

Low InfluenceLow InterestMinimal Effort

Low InfluenceHigh Interest

Keep Informed and SolicitFeedbackIn

flu

en

ce o

n O

utc

om

e

InterestLow

High

High


Stakeholders

• High influence, highly interested people: these are the people you must fully engage and make great efforts to satisfy.

• High influence, less interested people: put enough work in with these people to keep them satisfied, but not so much that you give them more detail than they want or need.


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Stakeholders

• Low influence, highly interested people: keep these people adequately informed, and talk to them to ensure that no major issues are arising. These people can often be very helpful with the details of your strategy.

• Low influence, less interested people: again, monitor these people, but do not bore them with excessive communication.


Communication

• Communication also entails being able to take well-reasoned stands on important issues and to have the courage to speak truth to power.

• “Group Think” or going along to get along can be deadly.


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Step 9

• Drive execution through strategic alignment, action planning, change management and accountability.


Execution

Easy Factor Difficult

Low

investment

1. Investment /

Resources

High

investment

Within existing boundaries or silos

2. Cross-Functional

Impact

Across multiple boundaries or silos

No change in structure

3. Organization

Structure

Significant change in structure

Aligns with current culture

4. Cultural Change Requires culture change

Incremental and gradual

5. Level of Change Radical and rapid


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Execution Limitations

• Technical: strategy technically impossible to execute

• Resources: insufficient human or financial resources

• Social/Political: socially or politically unacceptable

• Legal: legal/regulatory constraints

• Other?


Obstacles to Execution• The strategy:

– Failed to involve the right people upfront

– Not well understood by implementers

– Lacks clear accountability (tracking and metrics)

– Lacks needed resources or support

– Failed to consider “people issues”

– Failed to account for politics and culture

– Didn’t effectively communicate strategy to stakeholders

– Didn’t align people with strategy


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Strategic Alignment

Alignment is critical. When people are not aligned with goals and strategies, the right things don’t get done... or don’t get done right.


Strategy

Organizational

Departmental

Team/Individual

MeasuresObjectives

Alignment of Mission-Critical Factors

Alignment


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Step 10

• Review progress and make adjustments on an ongoing basis.

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”

Winston Churchill


Creating the Future

• Strategic thinkers create the future twice. Once intellectually through imagining, envisioning and planning, and then again through execution…through actually making it happen.

• The important thing to remember is that it is not enough for the leaders to have the vision and plan for the future in mind – for the plan to be fully executed, it must also be in the minds of everyone who must make it happen.


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Questions?

Documents

Strategic Planning - University of Floridaextadmin.ifas.ufl.edu/.../docs/IFAS-StrategicPlanning2016.pdfStrategic Thinking Insight Foresight Analysis Judgment ... Strategic Planning