Have you already created a strategic plan? Were you able to execute it successfully? Let me share one of the great challenges you are going to face as you create and execute one.
I'm at Frankfurt Airport today and millions of people come here every year. One thing very important to the success of this airport and everything that goes on is communication. Signs have to be labeled as people figure out how to get from point A to point B, but not only in one language because people come from all over the world.
The same way, communication is very important to you and your strategic plan. Once you create one, you need to be able to communicate that alignment clearly and constantly. You need to be able to get communication from people to help them get to where they want to go.
If you don't have sufficient structures in place within your organization to have that communication, whether it be roles, responsibilities, or regular meetings, it's going to impede your success. You have to communicate the plan on a regular cadence so people are reminded of it. When I got off the plane today, I looked at the screen and said, "Okay, here's my gate." But when I went to the gate, it turns out I got the numbers wrong. Instead of going to 242, I went to 224, and that was just five minutes ago.
You may have had an incident where somebody has shown you something that you instantly forgot about after. Consider that your people are probably the same. You might have shown them the vision and strategic priorities, but they tend to forget. You might have asked them about their action plan, but sometimes you get caught up too and forget about it.
You need to have that repetition, have it documented, and have it in front of people's faces all the time. Doing so provides a higher likelihood of success and a higher amount of engagement. You are also going to move the plan forward to get your organization to its desired destination.
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