You and your team spent a full day at an “offsite” planning session last month. There were a lot of great ideas and there was a feeling of camaraderie as you departed. Now, a month later, you are beginning to see that nothing has really changed. So what went wrong and why is nothing you thought was agreed upon getting done?
- Lack of Agreement
You can do a lot of analysis but the simple truth in most cases is there was actually no agreement. How can that be true? You all raised your hands. Unfortunately agreement or “buy-in” is rarely achieved easily and usually results in confrontation not camaraderie as long held positions of some or even most of the group must be abandoned. To gain agreement to any idea each and every party must have exactly the same understanding of the idea as everyone else on the team. Interpreting a raised hand or an affirmative response as agreement will only lead to disappointment on everyone’s part. Failing to get 100% agreement or total buy-in as some would say, make most planning sessions nothing more than expensive “group understanding” opportunities. It helps you understand your team better but little else is really accomplished.
- The World has Changed
Ever heard the phrase “No plan ever survives contact with the enemy”? Business plans like all others are only as good as the understanding of the environment on which they are based. As your business and the world around you changes everyday so must your plans. To be sustainable, businesses must recognize what parts of their plans are no longer appropriate for the new environment and go into re-planning mode. Planning is not a once-a-year thing, it is an every week thing. Successful business are those that can react to change by implementing a simple test before expending resources: If a task is important to do it should be in the plan. If a task is not in the plan do not spend a penny on it.
Planning sessions should be held when the environment changes and the plans generated must have 100% agreement on the part of all members of the team implementing them. Planning must become part of your culture. Then you can truly “plan your work and work your plan”.
