Old Way | New Way |
The traditional strategic planning retreat: executives go to a remote resort location for one or two days, where they brainstorm all the things they want to do; then prioritize their “goals” and “objectives” into a lengthy to-do list for the next planning cycle. | Multi-level, cross-functional planning teams: a sampling of experienced managers and workers at various levels meet and develop strategies through a systematic methodology. |
Planning is done primarily in-house, with little or no outside facilitation help and no planning framework. | Outside expertise is brought in to learn best practices and provide professional facilitation; a structured framework is followed in a logical progression of steps without digression. |
| The standard planning cycle: typically 5 years, or as short as 3 years. | The agile planning process: shorter than 3 years, and strategies can be revised as necessary without being tied to any annual cycle. |
| Innovation and major change is not likely to occur, since only a few senior executives do all the planning, there is little external influence; plans tend to be repetitive and ingrown. | Innovation emerges from cross-functional teams composed of employees at all levels, who are empowered and provide a reality check on what is really needed in the organization at the working level. |
| Routine, perfunctory, tradition-bound planning: “We have always done it this way.” | Creative strategic thinking is encouraged at all levels of the organization. |
| Compliance-driven management: “we have to do this because we were told to.” | Strategy-driven management: we are doing this because we have arrived at a consensus on what is most important to this organization. |
| The Strategic Plan: a slick, attractive paper document with lots of pictures, filled with “goals” and “objectives”, roughly 50 pages in length, published every 5 years. | The strategic plan is a series of strategy maps, performance measures and initiatives that tell the story of the organization’s vision and strategies. |
| The Strategic Plan is “shelfware”: it is disconnected from actual execution and gathers dust on a shelf. | The “strategic plan” is a dynamic process that provides the guidance for all programs and projects. It is enforced through strategic performance measures and manager accountability. |
| The strategic plan contains a large number of “goals”, “objectives”, “action items”, etc. | Strategic plan is focused on a 3 or 4 strategic themes; yet at the same time the plan is much more comprehensive. |
| Alignment is haphazard or unknown, because of a lack of appropriate performance measures. | Alignment to mission and vision is enforced by the use of appropriate strategic performance measures. |
| Managers tend to focus on short-term financial goals. | Managers have a balanced view of the major perspectives of performance. |
| TQM-based performance measures (or Key Performance Indicators, KPIs) generate a lot of data but yield little insight as to what works. | Strategic performance measures allow planners to learn what strategies are working to improve performance. |
| Planning is goal or project oriented: Planning jumps directly from mission and vision to projects and initiatives. This puts the focus on means, not ends. | Planning is results oriented: Planning moves logically from vision to desired results, to strategies, to strategic performance measures, and then to initiatives. Performance measures are focused on end outcomes and results. |
| Planning is mostly aimed at improving processes and operations (“doing things right”), not strategies. | Planning is aimed at crafting and improving strategies (“doing the right things”). |
| The budgeting process is disconnected from performance measures, which are disconnected from strategic plans. | Budgets are guided by performance measurements showing how well strategic initiatives are improving strategic results. |
| Collection of performance measures is reactive and ad hoc, drivenby “data calls”. | Performance measures are collected systematically and continuously throughout the organization. |
| No performance reporting mechanism. | Performancedata is widelyreported via a distributed software system. |
| Not transparent. | Transparent — shows what is important. Focuses on the strategies and how they will be supported. |
| Numerous objectives, not linked to anything. | Objectives are linked in a chain of cause and effect on a strategy map. |
| Work incentives are disconnected from strategic performance. | Work incentives are tied to behaviors that are aligned to performance of strategic objectives. |
