In the previous article, we were in the midst of writing the Plan when time and space ran out. What follows now will complete the collective effort with an outline of the Plan. This should simplify putting the plan together which sometimes can seem much more complicated than it is.
General Format:
1) Don't make your format something more complicated than your organization is. Be true to your culture, values, and preferences.
2) In larger organizations, the draft may go outside the company to financial institutions, attorneys, or investors. If so, organize it such that confidential information can be eliminated.
3) Do have an Executive Summary - Not everyone is as close to the Plan as the Team.
4) Include a Historical Essentials section describing how the organization got where it is currently.
5) Mission, Vision, Values.
6) Goals & Strategies agreed upon during the process.
7) Action Planning with time lines.
8) Description of the process - This is the basic "who, what, why" information along with lessons learned.
9) Financial Planning - Funds & resources needed.
10) Operations Plan - Activities to be accomplished over time.
11) Budget Reporting - Previous & next year's expenditures & income.
12) Approval Process
13) Monitoring & Evaluation of Plan - Who's responsible for what & how frequently.
14) Communication of Plan - How is this done, who gets it, and which parts?
This is only a general outline, however, following this (hopefully) flexible outline should take the formality and guesswork out of the exercise, and take any pressure off those who may be vulnerable.
We are near the end; Final Plan Approval is next!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Managing Through our Values is Good Business
Although I have previously written on this topic several times, I feel compelled to continue to expand it. Perhaps it's because we continue to see an increase in results justifying the means, whether it be with our governmental system, within our organizations, or in our personal lives.
Previously, I have focused on the spiritual, the moral/ethical arena, and even the noble or fun side. As I've pondered this more and more, however, I've come to the conclusion that msking our values paramount is simply good business.
I especially appreciate a good quote, one that is succinct, to the point, and quietly profound. Yesterday this one popped up out of nowhere while I was doing some methodology research; "It is through values that people respond" (Barry Doublestein). Most of us would accept the importance of two areas in our organizations where consensus for importance rests: our people, and how we communicate with them. How can we do any better than to inspire our folks to thought, discussion, & action?
Values are what people live and die for; they excite, They motivate. Those of us "burdened with a few miles" have seen what an enthusiastic, motivated work force can accomplish. They will constructively question, work for the common goal, and go well beyond the norm to do what's right BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT.
Values also INVOLVE people. Through interaction, a team atmosphere is created where each is driven to understand why they do what they do. I was fortunate enough to have been given the reins to run Visual Systems, a nice mid-sized company, for 5 years. Largely through value orientation, we were able to attain record growth AND record profit while doing what was right for our customers as well as associates. They were incredible people who understood and embraced the values of our owners.
A corollary quote is: "The function & duty of a quality human being is the sincere & honest development of one's potential" (Bruce Lee). If we lead employees to respond, interact, and do what's right, we will develop not only them, but our organizations. No laziness; no shortcuts here. Striving harder to excel becomes fun, and the norm. This is how everyone wins.
How can this not be good business?
Previously, I have focused on the spiritual, the moral/ethical arena, and even the noble or fun side. As I've pondered this more and more, however, I've come to the conclusion that msking our values paramount is simply good business.
I especially appreciate a good quote, one that is succinct, to the point, and quietly profound. Yesterday this one popped up out of nowhere while I was doing some methodology research; "It is through values that people respond" (Barry Doublestein). Most of us would accept the importance of two areas in our organizations where consensus for importance rests: our people, and how we communicate with them. How can we do any better than to inspire our folks to thought, discussion, & action?
Values are what people live and die for; they excite, They motivate. Those of us "burdened with a few miles" have seen what an enthusiastic, motivated work force can accomplish. They will constructively question, work for the common goal, and go well beyond the norm to do what's right BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT.
Values also INVOLVE people. Through interaction, a team atmosphere is created where each is driven to understand why they do what they do. I was fortunate enough to have been given the reins to run Visual Systems, a nice mid-sized company, for 5 years. Largely through value orientation, we were able to attain record growth AND record profit while doing what was right for our customers as well as associates. They were incredible people who understood and embraced the values of our owners.
A corollary quote is: "The function & duty of a quality human being is the sincere & honest development of one's potential" (Bruce Lee). If we lead employees to respond, interact, and do what's right, we will develop not only them, but our organizations. No laziness; no shortcuts here. Striving harder to excel becomes fun, and the norm. This is how everyone wins.
How can this not be good business?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Individualizing Mentoring Plans
At the highest level it is called executive coaching, but mentoring is something that all too often, many executives do not directly or indirectly provide for their people, even though he or she may desire it for themselves. This is another area about which I've written a good deal, but one now that wants to be additionally refined.
Customizing the program to the needs of the mentee is what I'd like to focus on presently. Commonly, consultants, or even psychologists, have a predetermined approach where they will follow a process, which is good, but which can fail to address specific needs or current issues.
What I like to see is a period of inventory taking to discover exactly where the person is in their management development, before the program even begins. Issues outside the workplace can influence significantly, such as family matters, interests, upbringing, and even health. Yes, in this day and age of HIPPA, and confidentiality in general, it can be problematic. However, to the extent that the mentee is comfortable sharing more information, more effective results will be gained.
Personality profiles are a must. This is an area that IS easily entered. It is extremely helpful in helping the person recognize who they are and how they interact with others. It can explain why interacting with certain people or performing tasks may be more or less rewarding.
The mentor should be a facilitator only; he should not drive the process, the mentee should. This may be more challenging with a mentee who is begrudgingly participating, but if they will take ownership, for their own benefit, the results will be markedly different.
It may be helpful to talk with the person's supervisor ahead of time, although care should be taken here. Will the interchange prejudice the mentor? In general, I believe that it is better to have the discussion after time has past rather than at the outset.
Once all this is accomplished, the process can be tailored to the person, planned, and undertaken. There needs to be a beginning and an end. Objectives should be discussed, developed, and monitored. Without written goals, a time line, and progress evaluations, you won't know if you have succeeded.
Finally, the mentor should make herself available for periodic questions or meetings to help the mentee with the continuing journey.
Customizing the program to the needs of the mentee is what I'd like to focus on presently. Commonly, consultants, or even psychologists, have a predetermined approach where they will follow a process, which is good, but which can fail to address specific needs or current issues.
What I like to see is a period of inventory taking to discover exactly where the person is in their management development, before the program even begins. Issues outside the workplace can influence significantly, such as family matters, interests, upbringing, and even health. Yes, in this day and age of HIPPA, and confidentiality in general, it can be problematic. However, to the extent that the mentee is comfortable sharing more information, more effective results will be gained.
Personality profiles are a must. This is an area that IS easily entered. It is extremely helpful in helping the person recognize who they are and how they interact with others. It can explain why interacting with certain people or performing tasks may be more or less rewarding.
The mentor should be a facilitator only; he should not drive the process, the mentee should. This may be more challenging with a mentee who is begrudgingly participating, but if they will take ownership, for their own benefit, the results will be markedly different.
It may be helpful to talk with the person's supervisor ahead of time, although care should be taken here. Will the interchange prejudice the mentor? In general, I believe that it is better to have the discussion after time has past rather than at the outset.
Once all this is accomplished, the process can be tailored to the person, planned, and undertaken. There needs to be a beginning and an end. Objectives should be discussed, developed, and monitored. Without written goals, a time line, and progress evaluations, you won't know if you have succeeded.
Finally, the mentor should make herself available for periodic questions or meetings to help the mentee with the continuing journey.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Meeting #6 for Strategic Planning (SP) Part 1
As with most SP meetings, this will be held off site for reasons previously stated.
The time is now at hand to document, put in writing, the culmination of your efforts to date. This is where, if you've managed to build commitment into your process, you'll see the Team shine. It is the reason that HOW you've done WHAT you've done is so critical.
Start with a discussion of the Goal Setting from the previous meeting. Especially important is WHY goals are being set the way they are. Extra care must be given to help EVERY member understand, and be a part of, the decisions made. Remember, the value is in the disagreements.
Objectives for the goals must be built, with time lines. Ownership
responsibilities, that were emerging as the momentum grew, must be documented/assigned to their champions. This is the "least sexy", most mundane & detailed portion that will test every one's true position in the process. The outcome may be regarded as "fun", but the doing is work.
Weaved through the entire plan is the allocation of resources: the people, time, equipment, material, technology, & money to implement the Plan.
With this background, the question becomes, how do we write the Plan? If you've chosen & supported your members well, the answer is in the room. It is in the room, not only because of the talented members, but because they have all been put through a process that has taught them each to play their role and add value in whatever way they're able.
Here are some specifics that will help you: 1) The Action Plans should support the organization's Mission, Values, & Vision. 2) If you have a larger rather than smaller SP team, you may want to limit the number of writers. This will help continuity, and simplify/shorten the process. At the same time, everyone should be CONTRIBUTING to the writers. 3) Since these are drafts, keep them simple without every detail. 4) The drafts can be reviewed by the Team itself, or the Board. It also may be of help to involve certain employees for specific input.
In the interest of time and space, we will divide this meeting outline into 2 parts. The second part follows.
The time is now at hand to document, put in writing, the culmination of your efforts to date. This is where, if you've managed to build commitment into your process, you'll see the Team shine. It is the reason that HOW you've done WHAT you've done is so critical.
Start with a discussion of the Goal Setting from the previous meeting. Especially important is WHY goals are being set the way they are. Extra care must be given to help EVERY member understand, and be a part of, the decisions made. Remember, the value is in the disagreements.
Objectives for the goals must be built, with time lines. Ownership
responsibilities, that were emerging as the momentum grew, must be documented/assigned to their champions. This is the "least sexy", most mundane & detailed portion that will test every one's true position in the process. The outcome may be regarded as "fun", but the doing is work.
Weaved through the entire plan is the allocation of resources: the people, time, equipment, material, technology, & money to implement the Plan.
With this background, the question becomes, how do we write the Plan? If you've chosen & supported your members well, the answer is in the room. It is in the room, not only because of the talented members, but because they have all been put through a process that has taught them each to play their role and add value in whatever way they're able.
Here are some specifics that will help you: 1) The Action Plans should support the organization's Mission, Values, & Vision. 2) If you have a larger rather than smaller SP team, you may want to limit the number of writers. This will help continuity, and simplify/shorten the process. At the same time, everyone should be CONTRIBUTING to the writers. 3) Since these are drafts, keep them simple without every detail. 4) The drafts can be reviewed by the Team itself, or the Board. It also may be of help to involve certain employees for specific input.
In the interest of time and space, we will divide this meeting outline into 2 parts. The second part follows.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Meeting #5 for Strategic Planning (SP)
This meeting will be held off site for reasons previously stated.
Up to this point, the SP Team has come together to establish rules of engagement, gather data, discuss opinions/points of view, and analyze. Special emphasis has been placed upon the needs of your customers, strengths & weaknesses of your organization and competitors, and opportunities to add value and achieve growth.
If the process is working, you should be poised to shore up weaknesses, build on your strengths & take advantage of opportunities that are a fit (or can be) for your focus, core competencies, and culture. This is not to say that there won't be some stretching, which should be embraced, because it is a prerequisite for real growth.
Therefore, the time is at hand to set goals for where you're going, and how you're going to get there. This is a critical time in your SP endeavor, and yes, there is a process to assist you in accomplishing it.
An easy way to look at it is to consider that goals should be SMARTER:
Specific; Measurable; Acceptable (consensus); Realistic; Time Line; Extending (stretching); & Rewarding.
Be careful here, however, to discuss & agree upon your broad goals; the specifics will come at the next meeting where you will Action Plan. Examples might be to introduce a new product that delivers what your customers want while taking advantage of your core competencies. Or you might choose to broaden an underutilized production area that would enable you to reduce cost & pass at least some of the reductions on to the customer.
If you did your homework in Meeting #4, you used Porter's Five Forces to analyze your marketplace. With that information at hand, opportunities should have emerged, and been discussed. Now is the time to formalize & reach consensus on them. There is a wealth of other methods of discernment available here with which your facilitator can assist you.
Another one is a Goals Grid, similar to the four quadrants used in the previous two meetings for customers & products, except that it deals with four questions regarding your goals: What do you want to achieve that you don't already have? What do you want to preserve that you already have? What do you want to avoid that you don't have? What do you have now that you want to eliminate? Answering these questions as a group, and the discussing that follows should be lively, enlightening, and steer you toward meaningful goals.
There are many other aids that can be used. In the interest of time and space, we will not list them here, but your facilitator should be well versed in providing them to you.
Finally, there should be significant homework here for all. By the next meeting, where you will build Action Plans, your goals need to be formulated clearly. Drafts of agreed upon goals should be assigned to volunteers (ideally the biggest advocate). A paragraph with the SMARTER goals will be fine, & will provide a nice platform upon which to build your Action Plans.
At this point momentum should be significant as real progress begins to be seen.
Up to this point, the SP Team has come together to establish rules of engagement, gather data, discuss opinions/points of view, and analyze. Special emphasis has been placed upon the needs of your customers, strengths & weaknesses of your organization and competitors, and opportunities to add value and achieve growth.
If the process is working, you should be poised to shore up weaknesses, build on your strengths & take advantage of opportunities that are a fit (or can be) for your focus, core competencies, and culture. This is not to say that there won't be some stretching, which should be embraced, because it is a prerequisite for real growth.
Therefore, the time is at hand to set goals for where you're going, and how you're going to get there. This is a critical time in your SP endeavor, and yes, there is a process to assist you in accomplishing it.
An easy way to look at it is to consider that goals should be SMARTER:
Specific; Measurable; Acceptable (consensus); Realistic; Time Line; Extending (stretching); & Rewarding.
Be careful here, however, to discuss & agree upon your broad goals; the specifics will come at the next meeting where you will Action Plan. Examples might be to introduce a new product that delivers what your customers want while taking advantage of your core competencies. Or you might choose to broaden an underutilized production area that would enable you to reduce cost & pass at least some of the reductions on to the customer.
If you did your homework in Meeting #4, you used Porter's Five Forces to analyze your marketplace. With that information at hand, opportunities should have emerged, and been discussed. Now is the time to formalize & reach consensus on them. There is a wealth of other methods of discernment available here with which your facilitator can assist you.
Another one is a Goals Grid, similar to the four quadrants used in the previous two meetings for customers & products, except that it deals with four questions regarding your goals: What do you want to achieve that you don't already have? What do you want to preserve that you already have? What do you want to avoid that you don't have? What do you have now that you want to eliminate? Answering these questions as a group, and the discussing that follows should be lively, enlightening, and steer you toward meaningful goals.
There are many other aids that can be used. In the interest of time and space, we will not list them here, but your facilitator should be well versed in providing them to you.
Finally, there should be significant homework here for all. By the next meeting, where you will build Action Plans, your goals need to be formulated clearly. Drafts of agreed upon goals should be assigned to volunteers (ideally the biggest advocate). A paragraph with the SMARTER goals will be fine, & will provide a nice platform upon which to build your Action Plans.
At this point momentum should be significant as real progress begins to be seen.
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