As I’ve worked within organizations and, for the past 15+ years as an external consultant, I’ve come to admit that most employees, including many senior leaders, really don’t enjoy strategic planning. I think one of the biggest reasons for this is that they see it as a waste of time. Lots of hours spent by lots of people in closed door meetings that lead to a laundry list of activities and assignments that rarely seem to drive meaningful change.
I’d get tired of that too. But I happen to really love the strategic planning process—when it’s done well.
Here are some reasons that I think many strategic planning efforts fail to capture the interest of employees (even senior leaders!), or lead to meaningful results.
Continue reading “The Problems With Many Strategic Planning Initiatives”
In interviewing for a job several years ago, I went through a round of interviews with various members of the organization. When meeting with the Chief Administrative Office (CAO), he handed me a brochure and said: “What do you think about this brochure?” My immediate thought was: “In what regard?,” but I resisted the urge to say that and, instead, said:
Many of you have probably been at goal-setting seminars or workshops where the leader will pose a question like: “Would you like to make more money?,” and, of course, everybody nods or raises their hand. Then the leader will approach a workshop participant and 
It’s hard to believe another year is winding down. It’s the old “toilet paper roll theory” (a not-so-scientific way of explaining relativity). Time may pass more quickly (at least perceptually) for me, than for the university students I teach, for instance. For them a year represents about 1/20th of their lifetime. For me, well, you get the point!
Michael Porter revolutionized the world of business strategy when he developed his Five Forces framework, which evaluates the competitiveness — and resulting attractiveness — of an industry based on five competitive forces. 
What’s more important: a great idea or great execution? There’s certainly an