An Obstacle to Resolve or a Bona Fide Emerging Issue?

A measure of strategic management capabilities is how well a leadership team can balance responding to market conditions and staying focused on achieving their long-range strategic plan.

Testing of this balancing act starts in the early months of implementing a new strategic direction as operational teams start digging into new objectives.

These operational teams do more than drive action within organizations; they also serve the critical role of tacticians working through the messy details to bring great strategic thinking to life. To guide strategy implementation successfully, these brilliant tacticians need partnership from those who authored the strategic plan to distinguish new emerging issues, which could modify your strategy, from obstacles they can work to resolve in their planning.

"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - attributed to Winston Churchill.

It may seem strange to acknowledge that within the first few months of establishing a new strategic direction, issues may arise or be discovered that could mean modifying it, but today’s reality is that we all exist within a highly dynamic atmosphere. Change is more “normal” than you might imagine.

Take, for example, this story of wrapping up a nine-month intensive strategic planning effort in October 2008. We conducted long-range planning through the start of the Great Recession, yet only spent a few moments on the threat of a weakening market during the planning discussion. However, on that day, when integrating all the strategic thinking into one comprehensive plan, we felt it. Within a month, it needed to be reviewed and revised.

Because there was a deep understanding of the long-term goals and ultimate vision, the leadership team made modifications quickly and decisively. I was proud and amazed to see when we returned just one year later; this organization was back on track and surpassing its strategic goals. Their strategic planning provided much-needed context to regroup and still stay focused during a year that left many crushed.

A plan obstacle or a legitimate emerging issue?

We refer to the plans designed to achieve a long-range vision as deliberate strategies.

Assumptions identified during lengthy strategic planning discussions form the basis of deliberate strategies. These assumptions include a degree of market research and analysis, but they are by no means as comprehensive as the operational teams will develop in the first phase of plan implementation. This is when those closest to the action find ways to take advantage of opportunities and resolve issues impeding progress against goals.

New information, yet to be discussed issues or opportunities in alignment with plan assumptions we call Plan Obstacles. Think of these as all the things the planning team did not have time to explore and integrate during the strategic planning process but which don’t fundamentally change the goals of the plan.

A Plan Obstacle could be:

• Revisions to the timetable of strategic goals based on existing priorities, resource commitments, or customer/partnership dependencies.

For example, revisions to a product roadmap may not be financially sound, given the investment already made or the expectations established within a customer base.

• Staff displacements or management changes that require modifications to timing or negotiations of specific objectives within a strategy.

Such as the departure of a key executive within the first year of the plan’s development.

• A larger investment than planned to implement a strategy within the plan.

For example, when making enhancements to an existing platform will not be viable and the recommendation is to switch to an entirely new platform at a cost not included in the budget.

• Resistance to change is significantly greater than anticipated.

This could be from a customer, partner, or stakeholder group.

However, when operational teams find an issue that is in opposition to, significantly different, or missing from the assumptions, then they may have identified an Emerging Issue. 

Emerging Issues result from significantly unknown factors and should be escalated to the leadership team for further examination.

• Economic disruptions above and beyond those included in the plan.

For example, the Great Recession in 2008. No one expected the “adjustment” to be so prolonged and significantly deep.

• Unforeseen competitive maneuver.

For example, a merger or partnership deal which significantly changes the competitive assumptions in the plan. Like when IBM purchased Kenexa, a selection tool used in effectively hiring those entering the Talent Management market.

• A regulator change or legal barrier change that was unforeseen or significantly different than planned.

For example, the tax law changes made under the Trump administration.

• A significant innovation or market disruption.

Like when China flooded the global market with solar panels below the cost of what a US company could produce

How to provide implementation teams with the guidance needed to identify obstacles from emerging issues.

• Deepen the understanding of your plan's assumptions and underlying strategic thinking for each strategic goal. Take a minimum of an hour per implementation team to ensure your strategy is well understood. These discussions should kick off the implementation planning process, take a more informal working group tone, and allow for questions from the detailed planning team. Think of this step as an intensive orientation for each strategic objective or set of objectives.

• Monitor implementation planning by attending team meetings frequently to ensure emerging issues are not hijacking plans or being ignored.

• Bring emerging issues into planning discussions. Every organization has some level of annual planning, even if it is limited to setting revenue goals. Highly successful organizations have both regular strategic planning AND a robust annual planning process.

Need help clarifying if the issues impeding your progress are plan obstacles or emerging issues? Book a Strategy Boost™ planning workshop.