One of the best books I have read on developing a strategic plan and all that is involved in the execution of that plan was written by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan called Execution. It is a must read for any organization that uses teams to accomplish planning and execution.
A strategy is the key steps or methodology that you are going to use to accomplish your goals or mission. Many times the goal seems to be clear and necessary but the breakdown occurs at the point of determining how we are going to accomplish what we want to do.
In this book he lists several critical questions that should be answered during the development of your strategy to ensure a high probability of success:
- How good are the assumptions upon which the plan hinges?
- What are the pluses and minuses of the alternatives?
- Do you have the organizational capability to execute the plan?
- Are the short term and long term balanced?
- What are the important milestones for executing the plan?
- Can you adapt the plan to rapid changes in your environment?
The two most important questions are do you have the organizational capability to execute the plan? Just because it is the right thing to do may not mean we have the right people in place and this is the right time for implementation. If we add something major to our process without additional manpower it must be assumed that something else needs to go.
The last question is even more important in the culture we live in today. Just because something looks great as a strategy today and even works for awhile does not mean that it will be viable in the next twelve months. This means that nothing must become so sacred that it cannot be changed if necessary when a better plan is discovered.