Don’t Stop Now! Adjust

“We’re thinking we should just postpone this next quarter’s strategic plan update session. Everyone is really busy, and honestly, we’re tired. You know we’ve had these two huge, out-of-nowhere projects come up that have taken over our lives. The team has done great, but we’ve fallen behind on several strategic initiatives. I think it’d help everyone’s morale if we just gave ourselves a break. What do you think?”

I know you’re all tired and understandably so. But I think you’d be making a mistake. A classic mistake. You’d be falling into the trap of: When the going gets tough (on moving the strategic pan forward), we stall or retreat. We don’t adjust and move forward. Stalling, retreating, and failing to implement are exactly what you’ve been criticized for doing in the past. That’s what killed morale in the past. You told the team at the start of this process that you wouldn’t do it again. So don’t. Adjust and move forward. That’s what these quarterly review and update sessions are intended to do: Allow you to adjust and move forward.

Failing to implement is exactly what you’ve been criticized for doing in the past. Don’t do it again. Adjust and move forward.

Strategic plans are never implemented perfectly. There are always, always unexpected delays, changes, cancellations, additions, and ‘surprises’. And that’s supposed to happen. Strategic plans are plans. They’re guides, roadmaps, and templates to focus and align the team’s actions. They’re not magical promises of perfection. So when strategic plans need to adjust, adjust them. When they need to be moved forward, back, or sideways, move them. When the action steps planned for this next quarter are nowhere near being ready to move forward, find out if they’re still even needed given the changes in your world since the last update session, and adjust. That’s the beauty of regular update sessions: You’re constantly assessing what still works in your original plan and what needs to shift. Instead of being demoralizing, these work sessions should be inspiring as you and your team assess what’s changed and what adjustments will enable you to achieve your vision.

That’s the beauty of regular update sessions: You’re constantly assessing what still works in your original plan and what needs to shift.

José Andrés, celebrity chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, has trained his teams to embrace complexity and be adaptable. All of the planning in the world can never prepare you for every situation in life, but being great at dealing with complex situations and adapting to them, enables you to continue to move forward and fulfill your mission. I believe that’s sound advice.

Creating a strategic plan is hard; Implementing the plan can be brutal – but it doesn’t have to be. Don’t stop. Adjust.

Copyright MMXXIV – Liz Weber, CMC, CSP – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com +1.717.597.8890

Liz Weber is an advisor to boards of directors, business owners, and C-Suite leaders. She’s a leadership, strategic and succession planning consultant, speaker, and author. She helps her clients focus on the right things at the right times to get the right impact.