A Lesson From 2020: Get Simple Before You Get Strategic
by Lisa Bodell for Forbes
If your strategic plan for 2020 was scrapped in Q1, you’re in good company. Beyond the new best practice of adding contingency plans for a global pandemic, this year offers a rare opportunity to rethink our approach to strategic planning.
In a recent McKinsey survey, 43% of CFOs cited the need to streamline their planning processes to react more quickly and efficiently. As an author and simplification expert who’s worked with companies like Google and HBO, I’m convinced that the world’s most nimble brands are those which prioritize simplicity.
In the context of strategic planning, the straightest path to simplification is the short Q&A below. Organizations of any size can use it, from start-ups to multinational corporations, and it should be completed by the CEO or another member of the C-suite. Your answers will reveal how complicated the annual process in your company is — and exactly where the bottlenecks are. From there, you’ll discuss with your teams and determine solutions.
A few weeks ahead of your annual strategy session, answer the following six statements with either “Consistently,” “Sometimes,” “Rarely” or “Never.” Be brutally honest in your assessments.
1. We finalize our annual strategic plan within a quarter or less.
2. We finalize the budget for the next fiscal year within a quarter or less.
3. We can easily track our costs against our budget in real-time so we can adjust or course-correct as needed.