The lack of strategic focus is a leadership issue, even when the leaders of an organization “live and breathe” strategy or see themselves as very strategic (but you might be surprised how many don’t).  Such organizations also find it difficult to hang on to their talent for long.

Here are some of the symptoms:

“Tell me again:  why are we doing this?”

“Strategic plan?  I’ve never seen or heard of one around here.  I think we basically do whatever Big Ed feels like doing.”

“Our competition always seems to be one step ahead of us (or several).  We’re either playing catch-up or reacting to what they’re doing.”

“Yeah, we have a strategic plan.  It’s one of those documents framed in the hallway of executive row next to our mission, vision and values that we did last year.  Or was that two years ago?”

“Balanced scorecard???  This is probably another management fad that will go away in a few months.”

These symptoms are actually signs of some common issues (beginning with the most common):

• No formal strategic planning takes place; no strategy is ever articulated
• Strategic planning is event-centered (it happens once a year, and/or takes place at a leadership or board retreat)
• Strategic planning is static and stale once it’s completed; hardly anyone updates/revisits/revises the strategic plan before the next annual event.
• Strategic plans are not effectively communicated beyond a small group at the top
• Lack of strategic thinking as an ongoing practice across the organization.

How do effective leaders address the need for strategy?  I’d like to hear some of your ideas, and then I’ll share some solutions for these common problems in an upcoming post.

We start a new year and it’s a great opportunity to do some personal strategic planning.  Well-run companies and organizations take time annually to plan strategically for the future and to set their course of action.  Why not give yourself the same advantage?

I wrote a guidebook to help in the process of personal strategic planning that is available for the asking.  Send an email or request it from me directly and post a comment about how you’re using it.

What qualifies as a “strategic” meeting?  When we are talking about or deciding on a substantive direction or outcome.  When we are discussing our own identity.  When the stakes are very high, either for us personally or for the organization.  All of these fit my definition of strategy. 

I was in a strategy meeting back in January a few months ago.  I remember a series of strategy meetings I chaired during a series of months over fifteen years ago.   I have learned to identify strategy in meetings even when I expected the predominant focus to be on operational or tactical issues.  That’s really an important point.  Ask yourself:  what is the purpose of this meeting?  Are we dealing mostly with strategy or with tactics?

Patrick Lencioni has written a powerful book about meetings called Death by Meeting.  I highly recommend it.  It applies more generally to different kinds of meetings, but it warrants a close reading anyway.  Lencioni says instead of avoiding conflict, we should seek out the right kind of conflict in meetings that matter.  He distinguishes between destructive interpersonal conflict where people are focused on personal hurts, sensitivities or hidden agendas and healthy, constructive ideological conflict where we disagree over assumptions or approaches and we discuss these openly. 

Dan Bobinski shares three key questions you can ask to keep things on track in a strategy meeting:  1. What results do we want from this action?  2. What must we do to achieve those results?  3. What knowledge, skills, or attitudes must we have/acquire to do those things?

Here’s a tip for you to consider about the next meeting you are part of:  Look for whether there is a connection to something you care deeply about.  Ask more questions about “what” is the aim or objective until it is clear to everyone before allowing the conversation to steer toward questions of “how” to get to the desired end goal.  If you find that you really don’t belong at this meeting, as soon as possible create a way to delegate, disengage or dismiss yourself from the meeting and choose to focus on something that is a higher priority for you and the organizaiton.

An annual survey of executives by the Aberdeen Group shows that over the past year talent planning has risen from tenth to second on the list of top ten business issues that companies are facing today.  This is really striking to me.  What I’ve encountered, however, is that executives can’t agree on what “talent”  really mean (beyond a superficial synonym for “our people”).

What do you think-why do we have trouble defining talent?

Retail is down this year.  The world economy is in a slowdown mode, a recession that is being felt in many places across the world. 

Some businesses are playing pure defense and fighting for survival.  Not all of them are making it.  Others are ” hunkered down”  and trying to ride out the storm.  A few are looking for opportunities and places to grow.  All businesses must do some sharp thinking and planning about top talent.  For those who are shedding jobs and having to let workers go, the challenge that follows is:  how do we keep/retain our top talent?  A similar question occupies those who are playing defense and riding out the storm, though perhaps with less urgency felt.  The entrepreneurs and opportunists see this as a prime time to scoop up additional talent.

It’s not easy to focus on talent strategies when the headlines get darker and steal our attention almost daily.  Those who develop a discipline and ability to keep their eye on talent are the ones who will pull through this and be farther ahead of the game when things do get better.  Business cycles show that there are better times ahead.  It takes vision now to plan for the coming growth and to put/keep the right talent in place to harvest it.

First, a lot of what goes into “leadership” arises from a person simply being willing to take action, to be used for a specific purpose.  Leaders are NOT born for greatness; most are simply willing to step forward when many others are not.  As I look at those who assume leadership roles in groups, a large part of leadership is simply being willing to lead and following that up with action.

Second, good leadership makes a lot of difference in setting a particular tone for a group that they lead.  Whether people are energized, depressed, confused, enthusiastic–a lot of it has to do with the quality of leadership that is being exercised in the group.  

Third, from what I’ve observed a board’s effectiveness is directly related to two things:  how much time they spend reacting to what has already happened or is imminent, and planning what they want to happen or anticipating changes that are yet to come.   The most effective boards focus their energies on proactively planning for the future.

One of those board meetings I was part of required preparatory work and we met three long hours, but we focused on strategic planning and everyone afterwards acknowledged this was one of our best meetings in recent memory.  The other meeting was fairly short, reactive in focus and unfocused.  What a difference leadership makes in helping people focus strategically!

Why do I focus on strategy?  Two basic reasons come to mind:  waste and leverage.  I see far too much waste in business: wasted capital, wasted effort, misplaced or misused talent, wasted ideas.  You can often trace these back to an inadequate or a wholly missing strategy.   That’s the downside.  I also see the potential for impact, for leverage, for positive business advantage by giving a little more thought to strategy and execution.  If people took more time to ask “What are we doing?  Why are we choosing that approach?  How will we get there?  Who will play the key roles?” then a business and its people could make a much more positive contribution.

At the end of the day, the same leader turned to me and said “This was a really worthwhile effort and I’m glad I took part.  Our business also booked an additional $2m that we didn’t expect this quarter while I was in this session.  I wish all my days were this productive!”  I smiled as I thought about the many other leaders I’ve worked with who have “mysteriously” experienced similar outcomes.  The truth is, good planning positions us for success.

P.S.  Leaders wanting to stay current on strategy and business might want to check out the magazine www.strategy-business.com published by Booz Allen Hamilton.

Why do I say most businesses don’t have a strategy?  Just look and listen and the reason becomes clear.

Look at results.  Why do many businesses fail and others struggle for long periods?  One reason is a lack of a defined  strategy.  That means stating what they believe is needed for success and then regularly looking at their assumptions and challenging them.  A different problem is companies who are successful for a while (but are not truly aware of their strategy) and then find themselves in a painful situation when their customers or the market or the competition suddenly shifts and they are behind the curve.

Second, listen to the reasons business leaders give for not thinking hard about strategy.  When a company is successful, the argument is basically “Don’t mess with something that’s working.”  There are a lot of excuses for not doing what you know you should be.  It is easier to look outside and pin the responsibility on something else external.  If things are not going well, you can be deluding yourself with hope, optimism or just bad excuses. 

So, what should you be doing?  First, take time to actually define your strategy.  How are you going to succeed in business?

Second, play the “what if” game for a while.  What will happen if your competition starts winning market share from you, or brings out a new product/service that gains favorable attention in the market?  What if your top five customers were to defect or you lost their business?  What if a new, well-financed competitor enters your market and the rules of the game seem to suddenly change? 

Finally, make an appointment in your calendar right now to do some serious thinking about strategy before the month is over.  Resolve to follow up on it in three months.  Strategy is actually an ongoing process, not a once-and-for-all event or an annual ritual that is meaningless.  Instead of having a strategic plan (slightly better than no strategy at all), focus on thinking and planning more strategically on a regular basis.