Working on strategic plans is exciting. They hold so much promise for the future and can be very energizing. However, according to some studies, 60-90% of strategic plans never reach fruition. Why? There are four key reasons:
- People don’t understand the problem. If you’re asking people to make some big changes, it is important to help them understand why. If you can’t explain this in detail with the evidence to back it up, maybe the change isn’t necessary.
- Lack of understanding regarding the organization’s capabilities. Strategies are not likely to be productive is your teams don’t have the time, skills, tools, and resources to implement them. Make sure your strategies are realistic and do-able.
- Misperceptions about immovable pressures. Realize that your leaders and teams have jobs to do while they’re working on strategic plan implementation. Be realistic about how much time your teams can dedicate to new strategies. If it will take more time than they currently have, find ways to free them up to contribute to strategic planning/implementation while handling their regular tasks and responsibilities.
- Team members don’t understand the cultural landscape. Make sure everyone understands the implications of the strategy, how long it will take to implement, whether it’s a short- or long-term effort, and what results they should expect and/or aim to achieve. The whole organization – from top to bottom – needs to be on the same page.
