Ep 20 - Shifting from Weak Proactive to Strong Pre-Emptive Strategic Planning

You've accurately identified one of the primary reasons companies struggle to maintain focus on their strategic plans. I've witnessed this firsthand in my role as CTO at large organizations. However, with the right leadership, tools, and a disciplined approach, it's possible to overcome these challenges. By involving employees in goal setting, appointing a strategic plan champion, holding regular team meetings, and integrating strategic objectives into company culture, you've created a strong foundation for successful strategic planning. When executed effectively with the right tools, processes, and leadership, this approach can effectively address the common issue of getting sidetracked by day-to-day distractions. By aligning daily activities with long-term goals and ensuring that strategic planning is an ongoing, adaptable process, you can maintain focus, drive progress, and achieve your desired outcomes.

Beside real crisis like corona and other "black swans", emergency happens in my experience when the importance of strategy was ignored for too long and the strategic integrity is not in place. Market and customers will pay this back twice and the whole organisation has to deal with business issues, legacies and not prepared culture all in one - only greek gods can do this wihout harm - ... this costs businesses and workplaces. Altough we cannot predict future and there is no guaratee for strategy without emergency is guarateed. AI will help here to get the hard data work done with less effort so that we can go back to thinking, at least hopefully. Good to be with you and thank you for all the learning.

More urgent issues always get in the way because this is how the system works. Weekly meetings, incentives, performance bonus programs – they all push managers to pay more attention to urgent matters. I remember a story about Yim Cook. Once a director approached him and informed him there was an issue at the factory and Chine. Cook replied that he expected the director to go to China and fix the problem. When 10 minutes later Cook spotted the director in the office, he asked: "Are you still here?" Isn't it a perfect example of micromanaging?

A critical comment here is, "There are no lazy, or dumb people involved - your colleagues are well-intended. They know they need to be proactive" Until we better understand the unpredictability behind the human factor involved in the process, the messy bit, then there will continue to be uncertainty and unfortunatley a lower experience of success. What are the human factor dynamics at play with regards to the individual, the team, the organisation? What is "well intended" for one person may well be and mean something totally different for another. Looking forward to listening to the dialogue 👌