From Priorities to Purpose: Weaving Strategic Thinking into Strategic Planning
The Human Side of Strategy – Part 3
It can be common to approach strategic planning with a checklist:
What do we keep doing?
What do we stop doing?
What do we start doing?
While this can be a helpful exercise to identify priorities, its effectiveness relies on subsequently asking my favorite question - Why:
Why is this important?
Why do we want to invest our time, energy and resources into this?
Why do we need to do this now, and not in 2, 5 or 10 years from now?
By asking Why, you can weave strategic thinking into your Strategic Plan. This will help you to go beyond creating a list of actions by critically analyzing the purpose and timing behind those actions, leading to thoughtful and effective strategic planning. By enacting this approach, you will:
Gain a deep understanding of your organization’s current and future landscape, uniquely focused on your specific opportunities and challenges.
Experience a planning process where decision-makers, leaders, and implementers are fully engaged, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued at each stage.
Benefit from a thorough review of engagement results and research, identifying key themes that guide your focus and drive meaningful action.
Participate in thoughtfully designed collaborative sessions that encourage exploration of ideas, leading to a clear and inspiring vision for the future.
Walk away with a Strategic Plan that seamlessly connects your vision, goals, priorities, and performance measures, creating a cohesive path forward for your organization.
If you are interested in learning more about how Emerge Solutions can help to infuse strategic thinking into your strategic planning, please contact:
Dana Garner Senior Consultant at Emerge Solutions, Inc.
dana@emergesolutions.ca
emergesolutions.ca