The Many Skills Needed by Leaders Part II:
PLANNING: Planning is the process of developing a crystal clear vision and then creating the processes and systems that will move us towards that vision. It involves setting short, intermediate, and long range goals as well establishing objectives and benchmarks to guide us towards the attainment of our desired outcomes. If we begin with a crystal clear vision, we are well down the road to the creation of a successful strategy. The vision is the glue that holds the parts of the strategy together. The vision is the filter through which every tactic is analyzed.
If a tactic is not aligned to the vision, it should not be used. Our vision must also be consistent with our values and beliefs. If there is a disconnect between our vision and our values and beliefs we will never be able to put forth the energy and effort necessary to achieve our vision. We use a concept that says “Our Success Will Never Exceed Our Dreams.” That sits at the core of our planning process. Our vision is our dream. So what’s our vision at Win the Bigger Game? Our vision is that we will be the “Go To Company” whenever someone or some company wants to learn how to make better decisions relating to the performance of people. Whether that is for the purpose of hiring and promoting, developing skills within the organization, or simply better relationships between people, we want to be the first one you or anyone thinks of.
The direct outcome of our planning work is to help organizations design a culture that promotes success. An organization’s culture is reflected in how it gets things done and how the people of the organization feel about the processes that produce the results. A leader’s values and beliefs will naturally push that leader towards certain action steps and it is the leader’s responsibility to be fully aware of how those processes affect the climate within the organization. It’s not good enough to say “I have your best interest in mind!”
When we engage in planning we often hear the terms tactics and strategies and sometimes we have difficulty differentiating between the two. Strategies are the means by which we will get to our objective. Tactics are the series of individual actions that make up our strategy. By carefully considering the strategies we will use to move us from where we are to where we want to be, we have engaged in strategic planning. If we create a plan to win a football game, we will create strategies designed to produce touchdowns. We will also create strategies designed to prevent the opposition from scoring touchdowns. We will use certain plays to move us closer and closer to the goal and we will have contingencies to put in place if our plans do not yield the desired outcome. Our tactics in either of these processes are the actions each player employs on each play to help us achieve our goals.
