Over the years, I have had the privilege to assist many organisations and governments with their strategic planning and implementation. While all had prepared great shiny nice documents to detail out their strategy, many (if not most of these) end up sitting on shelves collecting dust, and in the case of one organisation, functioned as a door stopper. 😂

Early this week, while facilitating a strategic planning workshop for a state government ministry, the participants were telling me of the issues they have had with previous “con”sultants who had come and helped draft their plans. They lamented how they felt a bit lost in the process and were still confused after the documents were produced.

It had me reflecting on why we have strategic plans, and whether they are actually helpful. 

My two cents on the matter is this: over-designing a strategic plan document is a waste of time and money (ironic that this is coming from me — the guy who charges for this service). 

What matters is actually the implementation of the plan. You really don’t want to spend hundreds of thousands (or worse, millions) on something that doesn’t get done.

Does this mean we don’t need a strategic plan document? My answer is, it depends on the size and scope of the organisation. If you are a small organisation and you are constantly in touch with your staff, then really, you don’t need it. You know your business / functions better than any consultant. You can do it yourself so long as you take some time to pause, reflect and look at what others are doing (benchmark best practices and apply only those that work in your own local circumstances that you would know better).

However, if you are a big organisation, and especially so where you have multiple offices in different geographical areas and numerous staff, you need it. The benefit of a strategic plan is so that people in your organisation can read it and understand what you are doing and why you are doing it. In other words, it’s about getting the hundreds of staff under you to row in the same direction. 

Now, because of this, the document can’t be over-engineered. All levels of staff in your organisation need to understand this document. They need to understand the “why we are doing it” more than the “how we are doing it”. This is so that they can creatively adjust the initiatives during implementation so long as it answers the “why”. But mind you, the “how” is also key because not everyone will know where to start.

So, if your language in the document is too bombastic; or has too many layers of strategy; or has too many priority areas or initiatives; chances are it will just end up on the shelf — or, perhaps slightly better, so that it’s at least marginally useful, it can function as a door stopper.

There is a whole other dimension of a yearly tracking and governance mechanism vs a mid-year review exercise for the plans to ensure implementation. But that is a story for another day.

Good luck to anyone and everyone who are drafting their strategic plans. I hope this small reflection helps. Please don’t waste my taxpayer money or your shareholders’ money on things you can’t use. 😂