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| [image credit: pixabay.com] |
Today's meditation: Strategic Initiative Planning
If you asked me to help your organization launch a strategic initiative, there are important steps that I would recommend - and the order is critical:
(ordered with intent...phased, incremental, and iterative are implicit - while Big Bang - or Big Design Up Front - is most certainly not)
1. WHY:
Our initial discussions are going to focus on getting crystal clear on why you think this strategic initiative is important, what problems do you think it will solve - or what opportunities do you think it will create.
What are the market forces driving this initiative idea?
What are the possible 2nd and 3rd order consequences of chosing this particular strategic initiative (versus other possible alternatives) to your organization?
2. WHAT:
Everyone involved in this strategic initiative must be crystal clear on your priorities, objectives, desired outcomes, and goals.
What are the geographic areas in which this initiatve will be implemented?
What are the business requirements, and non-technical requirements?
What are the key metrics that will be critial - when measuring the success of this initiaitve?
What is the initial expected budget for this initiative?
3. HOW:
A clear understanding of the WHAT is vital, before we try to solve for the HOW.
What are the organizational artifacts (e.g., vision, roadmaps, policies, standards, specifications, constraints, etc.) - that will shape (or limit) the choices in developing an implementation approach?
How will this initiative be achieved?
What are the current set of business and technical capabilities?
What are the current businesses procsses - and what gaps may exists there, as well?
What resources are available, and what gaps may exist in the organizations skillsets.
4. WHEN:
When must this initiative be delivered/achieved?
Once we understand the potential gap between the organization's existing (and required) skillsets, or if the delivery date is so urgent that it won't allow sufficient time to upskill the organizatoin's personnel - then the WHO can be determined.
5. WHO:
Based on an understanding of the preceding, THEN we can begin assessing WHO is appropriate, and whether the work can/must be performed by personnel within the organizaiton - or whether exigent forces require engagement with one or more third-parties (vendors, partners, SMEs, contigent staff, etc.)
Far too often, I have observed ogranizations skip (or ignore) one or more of these steps - or seek to reorder the approach (e.g., selecting WHEN, before any other consideration is sufficiently examined, defined, understood). The outcomes then - easily predictable...
