Strategic Planning – A Waste of Time or Essential?

I would never say that strategic plans are a waste of time. In fact, based upon my studies and research in the field of complexity management, my view is just the opposite but for reasons that you might not expect. Strategic planning initiatives are certainly well established in today’s management culture and considered a necessary part of running an effective organization. Organizations often search out consultants who are supposedly experts in strategic planning and pay them thousands of dollars to lead this exercise. Saying that you don’t have a strategic plan immediately brands you as an organization that is not well run.

What I would say is that the fancy, well-manicured and glossy strategic plans that are produced as evidence of good planning are useless – except as artefacts of what was talked about during the process. And even more so if the organization (particularly if it is cash constrained) pays good money for what is often a vending machine result. The often rote and simplistic strategic plans that are trotted out as evidence of excellent governance in action are out of date the minute that they are reduced to paper in our complex world in which nothing stays the same and we cannot predict or determine what will happen.

If the plans themselves are useless then why did I say that they are so important? It is because the discussions that go into them are so necessary. As both Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhauer are reputed to have said, while plans are useless, planning is everything! It is in the conversations that planning adds value. The exploration of different perspectives. Challenging sacred assumptions that may no longer hold true. Exploring together who we want to become and how we want to work together. In the building of relationships between folks across the organization that would otherwise not have the opportunity to converse. And the more challenging the discussions the more important it is to have broad engagement across an organization so that the patterns of how we relate to one another can be affected.

Because after all, strategic plans and their broad pronouncements are only words – unless we are prepared to change how we act and to do so based upon the agreements and negotiations that they evidence. They tell you nothing about the planning conversations, the relationships that were created (or destroyed) or nurtured in the process of development. They are often full of what I call value slogans that are used for branding and motivational reasons, relate to an idealized desired future and used to position the organization on the side of the angels. Respect. Inclusiveness. Transparency. Excellence. All good aspirations but just as often seen in the plans of organizations that honor them only in their breach. No shared understanding of what committing to these ‘values’ would mean and, in my experience, rarely do they affect how the business of the organization is conducted

Two early experiences with strategic planning drove me to study Complexity Management. As I recount in my book, one was considered a resounding success, and the other was rejected even as a discussion piece. Thinking back over the years, it wasn’t the artefacts from the discussions that made the difference. Both were well researched, written and presented. It was instead the extensive consultation and engagement process with many stakeholders that led to the successful strategic planning initiative. (At one point I knew we were on a good path when we were told to stop consulting and get on with it!) These conversations had built relationships between and among stakeholders that continued into the implementation, holding all of us accountable to our promises of how we wanted to work together. Not that everything rolled out exactly as planned. In our complex environment that would be extremely unlikely. But our ability to have conversations and to continue our discussion as to who we wanted to become enabled us to adapt and adjust. That plan remains as words on paper – but it is how they got there that have left a legacy of productive and positive working relationships which set us up well for a challenging future.