The Simplicity of Objective, Strategy & Action
By James Crown, Chief Executive Officer, Knowledge Group Consulting

Planning is the primary contributor to good corporate governance and it is a fundamental building block upon which the organisation's success depends. Keep the plan flexible, simple and practical. The effective plan changes with the environment.

There are many planning methods and terms. Planning can be done at a corporate, usually strategic, level or lower, by business unit, department, division, branch, or work area. It can focus on marketing, operations or the whole organisation.

There are only three basic requirements: the Objective (what we want to accomplish); the Strategy (how we are going to accomplish the Objective); and the Actions (how we are going to accomplish the Strategy). Get these right and you are on the way to success. Fail to take the time to do this properly and you increase your risks considerably.

The Vision and Mission Statement, the Environmental Analysis including its SWOT and Stakeholder Analyses, and the Critical Success Factors (1. Financial Achievement, 2. Customer Service, 3. Internal Process Improvement, and 4. Staff Learning, Growth and Enjoyment) are all important, but what is really important to ALL planning is getting the Objective, the Strategy and the Action Plan right.

Let's get straight to it. Assume we have done the Vision and Mission, the Environmental Analysis and the Critical Success Factors.

Under each of the CSFs - 1) Financial, 2) Customer, 3) Process, and 4) Staff - we need Objectives which describe what we intend to accomplish.

Objectives - clear, end-statement positions of what we want to achieve to meet the Critical Success Factors. To have in place, by (a certain date), (a certain well defined something, for the purposes of delivering something). You may meet your needs with one clearly defined Objective or you may require multiple Objectives. The wording of the Objective shows performance and outcomes: what will be done? (To have in place …) when will it be done by? (by date …) what will be in place when it is done? (a well-defined something) why is it being done? (for the purposes of …) By answering these questions, anyone working toward the Objective, or just observing and understanding will see the answers in the wording of the Objective.

Performance Measures/Target - each Objective must have performance measures and targets that define the accomplishment, the actual deliverable, or the improvement factor. What do we (or our customers) get by accomplishing this Objective? A Performance Measure defines how or what you will measure, and a Performance Target defines, usually in quantitative form, the standard you will reach. Performance measurement at the level of Objective is absolutely critical. Take the time to do it well.

Strategies - these are the action-oriented statements to deliver the Objective (or a portion of the Objective). These deliver new initiatives or improvements. Strategies provide the detail, the clear statement of how the Objective they relate to will be delivered. Frame it as an action, an executable. Review different courses of action. Common performance measures for strategy are: on time, on budget, and fit for the purpose for which it was intended (quality). Keep strategy measures simple. It's the Objective where real performance counts.

Action Plans - these are the implementation plans for the execution of the Strategies. Complicated strategies might be broken into action plans using project management methodology; simple strategies will have a corresponding simple action planning method. Action plans break down the strategy into action steps (what needs to be done?), timetables (when will it be done?), responsible officers (who will do it?), budget (how much will it cost?). Document in action steps those things that are executable but not trivial, usually those items that require time, money and human resources.

Planning is not difficult. Take the time to define your end-state Objectives, your how-to Strategies, and your Action plans and you will increase your odds of success greatly.

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