action planning: the often-forgotten piece of strategic plans€¦ · “strategic planning is not...
TRANSCRIPT
Action Planning:
The Often-Forgotten Piece of Strategic Plans
Greg Kuhn, Ph.D.
Cristi Musser, MPA Government Management Consulting
Sikich LLP
Jennifer McMahon, Assistant City Administrator Warrenville, Illinois
IML Conference 2014
“You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose
sight of the shore…” Author Unknown
©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Why Learn About the Steps to Strategic Planning and Action Planning?
» Would you rather “arrive” at the future?
» Would you rather “create” the future?
-Joel Barker
19 August 2014 3 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Why Do Action Planning?
» Does it matter?
» How is it different from the other parts of
strategic planning?
» Why is it the forgotten piece?
19 August 2014 4 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Why are we here? Consider this puzzle… what do these things have in common?
» Trip » House » Recipe » Skyscraper » Bridge » Symphony » Football Game » Space Mission
19 August 2014 5 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
What is Planning?
Most of us would agree that the term or word “PLANNING” refers to a way of looking toward the future and strategizing or programming for what we would like to do or accomplish.
19 August 2014 6 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Strategic Planning Is… …The fundamental process for leadership’s expression of the future, and the strategies to get there...
“Strategic planning is not a replacement for your leadership, but an instrument of
your leadership!” Moore & Diamond
19 August 2014 7 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Strategic Planning: The Concepts Behind the Words » Strategic: carefully planned in order to achieve a particular goal,
especially in war, business, or politics; of or pertaining to the science or art of command as applied to the overall planning and conduct of large-scale operations; a plan of action resulting from the practice of this plan; a plan of action resulting from the practice of science.
» Plan: Any detailed scheme, program or method worked out
beforehand for the accomplishment of an object; a proposed or tentative project or goal.
The Free Dictionary, 2005 MacMillan Dictionary, 2014
19 August 2014 8
Action Planning Is… ...The Next Step …The fundamental process for management’s approach and application of resources to achieve identified goals.
19 August 2014 9
Action Planning Has Three Main Ingredients…
» Identified Goals
» Available Resources
» Desired Timeframe
19 August 2014 10
Action Plan Definition
“A sequence of steps that must be taken, or activities that must be performed well, for a strategy to succeed.” “An action plan has three major elements:
1. Specific tasks: what will be done and by whom.
2. Time horizon: when will it be done. 3. Resource allocation: what specific funds are
available for specific activities; also called action program.”
Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/action-plan.html
19 August 2014 11
How Do We Do This? » Operationalizing the Goals
» What does Goal X, X1, X2, etc., really mean from a day-to-day operational perspective?
» Structural Assignments » What person or work group will be responsible for a particular goal?
» Scheduling » What are the key target dates, timelines and follow-up schedules? » How does this fit in with the municipality’s overall schedule of needs and
priorities? » Action Steps/Work Plans
» How will the goals be accomplished? » What resources does the organization have or need? » What outside help is required? » What is the approximate cost?
» Performance Measures » How will the municipality measure success? » What can be measured and how?
19 August 2014 12
Action Planning is a Team Undertaking…
“When it comes to the formulation and implementation of strategies
(to achieve goals), we must involve a variety of people in a variety of roles: sponsors, entrepreneurs, champions, orchestrators, technicians, etc.”
-Bryson
19 August 2014 13 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
If Action Planning is a Team Undertaking, Work Like a Team
» The CEO or CAO should initiate and oversee the action
planning process » Select a coordinator » Make assignments » Hold regular meetings » Require updates » Post results and update leadership » Create a tracking document or system “A key challenge during implementation is keeping the strategic planning team involved and interested…” -Goodstein, Nolan & Pfeiffer
19 August 2014 14 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
The Warrenville Approach and
Experience
Converting Goals to Actions
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
Why Commit to Action Planning?
» Helps you see those single bites » Holds staff accountable; keeps the focus on task » Regular updates to elected officials » Provides sense of accomplishment » Prevents the strategic plan from collecting dust
How Was it Done? » Hired consultant » Determined what goals
were whose responsibility » Consultant met with staff to
understand every little step » Put data into Gant chart » Met monthly for updates on
progress » Quarterly reports to elected
officials » Incorporated into budget
process
What was Accomplished? » Of 58 Objectives, 25 were
accomplished and 11 identified as ongoing values
» Basis for updated strategic plan » Mechanism for carry over to
new strategic plan » Justification of Council’s actions
to residents
» Addressed spontaneous, pet projects
Words of Advice… » Get your senior staff on-board with the idea » Set clear expectations with the consultant » Don’t make everything a #1 priority » Allow for unexpected changes » Commit resources to doing this – just do it!
Progress Chart Examples
An Outside Facilitator/Consultant Can…
» Provide an unbiased process to the group
» Help the team to stay on task and moderate participation » Provide balance and elicit participation from all team
members when working through assignments
» Be a neutral party to assist in raising and engaging on tough issues, accountability and tracking
19 August 2014 23 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
An Outside Facilitator/Consultant Can…
» Be a catalyst for challenging current methods, timeframes or
approaches
» Enable organization leaders to focus on goals, issues and barriers to success
» Stretch organizational resources » Carry the burden of tracking, report production and update cycles
19 August 2014 24 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Example Action Planning Worksheets: Blank
19 August 2014 25
Example Action Planning: Complete With Goals
19 August 2014 26
What Can/Does Action Planning Accomplish? » Designed to make organizational managers identify and reach
agreement/consensus on the necessary ingredients and timetables to convert a “goal” into a “three-dimensional” achievement
» Action planning methodically “forces” the organization to assess
priorities and the activities/strategies needed to make decisions on what is going to be done when, by whom and with what resources
» Requires management team members to confront strategic priorities
and arrange the components required to implement goals that may range from the philosophical to the operational
» Designed to impart and create awareness, accountability and performance metrics
19 August 2014 27
What is the Benefit of Following Strategic Planning With Action Planning? » In short, the strategic planning process is about building
commitment » Action planning exerts discipline on decision-makers and
implementers through a contextual exercise mapping out how things should be accomplished, and when
19 August 2014 28
“The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and change amid order…” -A.F. Whitehead
19 August 2014 29 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Questions?
19 August 2014 30 ©2014 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Resources/Sources
» Bryson, John M. Strategic Planning For Public and Nonprofit
Organizations. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1995. » Bryson, John M. and Alston, Farnum K. Creating and Implementing
Your Strategic Plan: A Workbook for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Jossey- Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1996.
» Gabris, Gerald T. “Educating Elected Officials in Strategic Goal Setting”. Public Productivity and Management Review, Winter 1989, vol. XIII no. 2.
» Goodstein, L., Nolan, T., & Pfeiffer, J.W., Applied Strategic Planning. McGraw Hill, NY, 1993.
» Hinde, Kevin. The Vocabulary of Strategy: Using Planning To Formulate Strategy, October 2004 www.kevin_hinde.com
» Mintzberg, Henry. The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning. Free Press, NY, 1994.
» University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension. Training Program on Strategic Planning: Local Government and Community Applications (Teaching Manual). Madison, Wisconsin, 2001.
19 August 2014 31
Follow-up With the Panel Contact:
Greg Kuhn, Ph.D. Director, Government Management Consulting
Sikich LLP [email protected]
Cristi Musser
Senior Government Management Consultant Sikich LLP
Jennifer McMahon Assistant City Administrator, Warrenville