Continued from Part 1

Creating a Dynamic Strategic Plan that Engages the Enterprise - Part 2Following are some additional hallmarks of a dynamic strategic plan:

Break it down. Remember that big lists rarely get done. Therefore, it’s important to highlight and break down the plan into its elemental strategic imperatives. And if you have more than five, you have too many. The magic number is three. Why break a long plan down into basic elements? Because you want everyone in the organization to know the basic elements. If they don’t know them, you won’t accomplish them. If people have to look them up, they won’t. However, if it’s broken down into short elements, it’ll stay top of mind. When it’s top of mind every day, people will know what the strategic imperatives are and will be more likely to attain them. Having the plan broken down into its basic elements is like having a guide that leads your organization to the future.

Tell stories. Bring the words of your company’s strategic plan to life by turning it into story form so that it becomes visual for people. Have the plan paint a picture in every employee’s mind’s eye so they can see what this plan will do and where the company is going. Visuals are powerful. If you’ve never seen what E=MCmeans—the visual of it—then you still don’t understand Einstein’s theory of relativity. However, those who see it in a visual story format understand it. For many organizations, a strategic plan can be complex and often just as hard to understand as the theory of relativity. Therefore, take the complexity in your plan and simplify it; boil it down to what it means to the employees and the company, and help everyone see it in their mind’s eye. Some companies have gone as far as hiring a graphic artist to paint a mural that depicts the plan. They put the mural in the lunchroom or in the entryway to the building. It becomes a visual that depicts the plan, including the outcome. Talk about getting a story ingrained in people’s minds.

Go multimedia. While your dynamic strategic plan could be a document, it could also be a video that people watch…and it could be an audio they listen to…and it could be a picture they look at…and it could be any combination of things. Remember that people learn in different ways. Some people prefer to read a book, while others prefer to listen to a book in audio form. The people who prefer to read the book wonder why anyone would listen to a book. And those who prefer to listen to a book wonder why anyone would purchase a printed book. Since we all learn in different ways, it only makes sense to put the strategic plan out in various formats. If you put the strategic plan out in one format, then you’re only engaging one learning style within an organization that has multiple styles. In fact, in a world where multimedia is easy and the tools are relatively free, there’s no excuse for not getting the strategic plan in multiple formats.

Get social. Social media is an ideal way to make a strategic plan dynamic. There are internal secure versions of various social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook. Simply do a Google search to find them. The key word to remember is “social.” It’s about creating engagement and involvement. For example, as employees execute the plan, you can be tweeting success stories, accomplishments, and roadblocks—all in an effort to gain feedback and ideas. Additionally, you can be using online collaborative tools to work with the different groups that are executing the plan so everyone can see where the other parties are in need of help. Unfortunately, most organizations still have silos and fiefdoms. A dynamic strategic plan tends to break them down and get everyone headed in the same direction.

Gain Engagement

The bottom line is that truly successful and innovative companies will have a strategic plan that is in motion. They’ll have a dynamic document that can be added to, massaged, and refined with graphics, video, and audio. They’ll have an internal, multimedia website versus a static and informing one. In short, they’ll have something that’s dynamic and moving. That’s simply impossible to do without technology.

So the key for leaders is this: You need to engage people with your plans rather than inform them of your plans. But because most executives don’t know what’s possible, they’ll never ask for a dynamic strategic plan. Therefore, get your CIO involved to drive the ideas and show the organization what’s possible. In fact, the only way to do a dynamic plan is with strategic vision and technology.

With the rapid pace of change, the traditional static planning system is a dinosaur. Most people do it only because they have to. Now is the time to redefine what a strategic plan is—for the organization, for the employees, and for the limitless opportunities such a plan affords everyone involved.