Successful Organizations Strategic Planning

SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATIONS &

STRATEGIC PLANNINGViews on how to better shape one’s work environment and create a place where people are encouraged to risk big, live

large & give you their very best

Define Success & Lead Them There

They Can Because They Think They Can~Virgil~

Healthy Organizations

ARE DO

Honest People oriented Proactive Tolerant of different

ideas, new approaches Flexible or mentally agile Focused on quality

people, quality processes, quality products

Fun places to work

Share common values Encourage & reward

initiative Deal with conflict

constructively Reinforce Success Practice what they

preach Take care of their staff as

a first priority Believe in what they do

Principles of Successful OrganizationsTo create a successful organization you’ve got to start at the top. The moral, ethical, & behavioral ethos of every organization is a reflection of the character & conduct of the leaders of that organization. They set the tone, provide the guidance both direct and indirect by who they are, what they know and what they do. The Army calls it the ”Be, Know, & Do” principle of leadership We will explore this and other principles in the following slides & how they effect the efficiency, internal & external perception of the organization & how they impact the organizations performance.

Leadership Management Supervision Integrity Authenticity Consistency Positive Attitude Effective Communication Conflict Resolution Strategic Thinking Strategic Planning Quality Focus

Principles of Successful Organizations

A very wise and experienced mentor once told me “You can’t manage people to their deaths; You’ve got to lead them there” Substitute success for death; and you’ve got the essence of leadership in the corporate world. Your clients, colleagues, & employees are constantly evaluating the quality of your character. Are you who you say you are? Are your actions consistent with your rhetoric? Are you genuine, authentic & trustworthy. If the answer is yes, they will trust you with their business, their friendship, their livelihood and they will follow as you lead them to success.

Leadership You Lead People You are responsible for every

thing the organization does or doesn’t do

You define & set the conditions for success or failure

You provide the role model for acceptable behavior & performance

You have a choice: To use the inherent power of a your position wisely or foolishly.

You must motivate, inspire, guide & direct your organization in the direction it must go in order to succeed.

Principles of Successful OrganizationsMany Managers fail to understand the difference between Leadership, Management and Supervision. Managing things may include the allocation of people’s time, effort, workspace & even work location. The decisions you make as manager of resources must be balanced by your responsibility as a leader. An old axiom in the military is “Mission, Men, Me” I’ve found that if you put the men first; they’ll take care of the mission, you, and will surprise you with what they can do with so little a thing as trust. Equip them with the right tools; a healthy, supportive work environment; and empower them to maintain ownership of their efforts and watch in awe as they deliver the goods far above your expectations.

Management You Manage Things

Time Money Equipment Workspace Resources

You set the conditions for success or failure by how well you equip your people to do their jobs

Provide the resources for your organization to thrive.

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their

ingenuity.”`George S. Patton`


Supervision- Your organization will look to you for an example of how you want them to perform. You must set high standards & develop a command climate that openly and honestly deals with mistakes. Your own as well as your employees. Focus on the processes by which decisions are made; not the persons who made them. As you do this the organization will learn over time and by experience how to move forward despite errors in judgment. As you encourage people to do their best and not hand them their heads if they goof; they will develop a sense of confidence, commitment and initiative that will surprise you.

Supervision You Supervise Performance

You provide the role model for acceptable behavior & performance.

You set the definitions, conditions & standard for success

Mistakes- Can’ t be prevented Are a natural by-product of human

endeavor Focus on process not personality Develop methods to capture them

& adapt tools, techniques & procedures to prevent repetition

Mentorship- successful organizations have some form of mentoring program there is a bond of trust & openness that evolves over time as a mentor shows his protégé the path to success.


It all boils down to Trust. Can your clients, colleagues, & employees trust you to fulfill your obligations & promises. If they can & do then it becomes merely a matter of working out the details. To create something special, something we all can be proud of; A product, a service, or an organization that is full of life, vital, productive and is a joy to be a part of. If you can’t be trusted, then there is nothing you can do that will result in success. It’s all about trust.

Integrity No compromise Non-negotiable Essential component in any

organization Authenticity

You must be who you say you are

It’s ok to be different, just be yourself

Consistency Do your words match your

behavior How well your organization

integrates its actions with it’s core beliefs is vital to its success.


A successful organization is marked by these traits. It has learned through trial and error that it can & will thrive in a tough, competitive market environment. It trusts its leaders to do the right things, with the right people, at the right time. It trusts its members to do their best, and when they can’t will try to help them find their way back. You can usually tell within a half-hour of walking into an office whether that organization is healthy or not. If you see more smiles than not; if you hear more laughter than not; and if you throw them a curveball and the response is let’s gather the team & lets see how we can do this; then you know. How does your current organization measure up?

Positive Attitude Confidence Commitment Tenacity Perseverance Enjoyment

They Can Because They Think They Can


Effective organizations can discuss even the most sensitive of subjects openly & honestly. It must in order to improve & grow. There is no magical formula or method that will guarantee effective communication all the time, every time. Every organization has to discover, document, & implement what works for them. Periodically review those decisions as a group. Analyze the decision making process, identify what you need to sustain and what you need to improve and institute those changes in policy, tools, techniques, & procedures.

Effective Communication How well do you & your people

listen? Stick to the issues on the table Check ego’s at the door Document the rules of engagement

& use them Conflict Resolution

It’s ok to disagree Focus on the quality of the argument

not the personality of the arguers Define the facts & assumptions Determine the alternatives Listen to the merits & weaknesses of

each Make a decision & implement it Periodically review your decision

making process to improve your groups modus operandi.


Strategic thinking is the hall mark of successful companies. They are intimately familiar with the patterns & trends of the market place within their sphere of interest. By analyzing those patterns and trends, they identify and isolate those business functions that identify the clients center of gravity. They focus on those tasks that they can do well and provide a superior product or service to their customer. Essentially, one must visualize, define & analyze the total situational environment one is in. Identify and define both the client’s and the competition’s center of gravity and develop something special to meet that clients core requirement, and unhinge the competitions proposed solution.

Strategic Thinking Define one’s current operating

environment Define critical facts &

assumptions Analyze & articulate the

competition’s, the clients & your own center of gravity

Identify your own & your competitions strengths & weaknesses

Come up with innovative solutions that meet the unmet need of your targeted niche

Develop a tentative plan on how you can leverage your strengths to meet that need.


In order to develop a successful organization you’ve got to plan. Somehow the organization must develop a common purpose; Move in a concerted way to achieve its intended goals. It must also coordinate its activities & think, move & act as a cohesive whole. Otherwise, it rapidly fragments. It’s members form coalitions, cliques, with the strongest personalities forming empires, kingdoms, & fiefdoms jockeying for power. Essentially, we all look for “The Plan” to help frame our work space and to provide missions & objectives to which we can apply our time & talent.

Strategic Planning Builds upon situation

analysis discussed earlier Is an ongoing process

Visualize, describe & direct the day in; day out functions of your organization

Visualize, Describe, & DirectThis chart captures many of the key points in strategic planning. It’s a constant process that never stops; you’re constantly assessing where you are relative to where you want to be. You’re leading your “crew” by example, by your grasp of the situation (Visualization), by the guidance you provide in writing, by word and by your actions (Description), and by how you handle yourself and those around you when the chips are down(Direction).The challenges a corporate executive faces are the same as a military commander… How do I influence the actions of my subordinates without the ability to be everywhere at all times? You do it by creating an organization that clearly understands “The Plan”. What is acceptable behavior & what’s not? Shares a common vision and clearly understands the mission & what their part of it is; and can articulate that vision, mission, & endstate back to you on request.

Battlespace = Marketplace

Area of Operations = Niche

Objective (OBJ) = Client’s Center of Gravity

Describe = Clearly, concisely articulate who we are, where we’re at, where we’re going, How we’re going to get there, and what it should look like when we get there.

Direct = Artfully & wisely use the tools techniques, & procedures we’ve built, trained with, and instilled in our crew to achieve the decisive points and objectives we identified in our planning

End State = success defined

Center of Gravity = the most important asset that the targeted organization must retain for their success

Simultaneous vs Sequential Ops = Do it all at once or “One after another”

Linear vs Nonlinear Ops = Ducks in a row or all over the map

Tempo = I’m working my timeline, the timeline is not working me


Successful organizations must plan. How well they peer into the future; define the anticipated environment, equip, train, and position themselves for success, will largely determine their fate. Well how do you do this? The best answer I’ve found is to create & document your perceived vision, mission & desired endstate. This tool will provide the common view of the operational environment, designated tasks, and the definition of success. This framework provides the common ground, the cohesive glue that enables you & all your “crew” to move forward in unison; thinking and acting as a cohesive, disciplined entity.

Strategic Planning Builds upon situation

analysis discussed earlier Is an ongoing process of

Visualization, Description & Direction

How to tackle this bear. Vision Statement Mission Statement

Task Purpose End State

Leaders Intent Statement Centralized Planning –

Decentralized Execution

Sample Vision, Mission, & End-State StatementsThe following statements are examples derived from the analysis of HighTecGov’s Draft Business Plan dated Feb 2009. It is intended to provide an example of the practical application of visualize, describe & direct processes; and how to frame a Vision, Mission, & End-state statement that will enable your subordinates to clearly understand the following:1. Who we are?2. Where are we going?3. How are we going to get there?4. What should it look like when we arrive?5. What do I have to do to do my part in achieving the stated

objectives?

Vision, Mission, Principal’s Intent

Vision- “HiTechGov will be the leading technology and integration

consultant for the small-medium public utility market. “We envision a cutting edge, highly successful, & cost efficient consulting firm providing unparalleled technical support to small and medium government & public sector organizations. We want managed growth with quality people, quality processes and quality products directly focused on quality service to our clients. The organization should be initially lean in structure with the principals primarily engaged with our clients. We want to be technically, structurally, and fiscally agile in order to target new opportunities as they occur. We want to remain fiscally sound and manage investment capital aggressively. Yet we recognize that our most precious resources are the intellectual efforts & service ethic of our contractors, and our employees and the goodwill & satisfaction of our clients.”

Vision, Mission, Principals Intent

Mission Task- 1) Create a lean, technologically advanced, consulting firm comprised of

top notch principals and subcontractors who are dedicated to superb customer service. 2) Carefully manage growth without stifling initiative, creativity or quality service to our clients. 3) Develop & implement a superior management strategy that enables the principles’ to remain engaged with their clients as the cornerstone of a successful company.

Purpose- 1) We want to create the best possible climate for our clients success. 2) We want to steadily and progressively grow our company without losing track of what’s important, Quality service to our customer. 3) We want to spend more time interacting with our clients and less time buried in details.

End State- 1) HighTechGov LLC shall be a California class C corporation based in San Diego County, owned by its principal investors and principal operators. We will specialize in helping utility agencies better utilize technology they currently have or are looking to acquire. 2) We shall have a lean yet fully capable staff that is second to none. 3) We shall create a company where we can focus on the important focus of our business. Quality time with our clients in order to produce a Quality product at a reasonable cost to our customer.

Vision, Mission, Principals Intent

Principal’s Intent We are operating in a highly competitive and

technologically advanced market with many firms both large & small vying for dwindling agency budgets. In order to succeed in this environment we must be the best technical advisors possible, we must provide a significantly better product, service, and client support than our competitors. Therefore we plan to keep our organization lean initially. We will use sub-contractors to perform much of the detail work & let the principals focus on upper level technical consulting. We will be prepared to exploit opportunities by planning controlled growth triggered by clearly defined work & $’s under contract thresholds. We define success as $500,000 under contract with combined employee/contractor staff in-place & fully trained; poised to support additional growth in the third & fourth quarters FY 09.

Quality FocusAs an organization develops it must focus it’s collective energy on the four P’s- Quality people using quality processes under quality policies to field quality products or services. It’s all about efficiency and how well you meet your clients expectations. Again, there is no magical formula for success. It takes effective leadership- you must set the stage and conditions for success. Effective communication- Your team must function & act as a cohesive, problem solving machine. Effective planning- You must anticipate, prepare for & react to a rapidly changing dynamic environment. And lastly, Your products must stand out as markedly superior to your competitors, or your just a part of the herd.

Personnel

Policy

Processes

Products

Conclusion

Be, Know, & Do Leadership, Management, Supervision They Can Because They Think They Can Visualize, Describe & Direct Articulate your Vision, Mission, End-State,

& Principal’s Intent Quality People, Policy, & Processes =

Quality Products Murphy’s Laws

Murphy’s Laws of Combat & the Corporate World

You are not Superman; Marines, fighter pilots and Corporate Executives take note.

If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

Never share a foxhole or the microphone with anyone braver or smarter than yourself.

The competition invariably throws a curve ball on two occasions:when they're ready.when you're not.

There is no such thing as a perfect plan

The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.

The easy way is always mined. Nobody cares what you did yesterday

or what you are going to do tomorrow. What is important is what you are doing – NOW - to solve our problem.

If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.

When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.

A Purple Heart or Gold Watch just proves that you were smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.

The one item you need is always in short supply; and it’s usually Time.

Interchangeable parts aren't. Neither are people

It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

When in doubt, empty your magazine, notify the Board and call in “The World”.

Tracers & criticism works both ways.

Documents

Successful Organizations Strategic Planning