PLAN
Never leave planning until the last minute - Jo Barnard, CEO, Morrama
Plan means
to decide in advance and make arrangements for. - Oxford Dictionary
Planning is essential to the formulation and execution of a strategy. Once a formal request is received to initiate strategy work, the lead facilitator should initiate the planning process or delegate it to a facilitator who is responsible for that strategy. Planning helps the facilitator engage the strategy's sponsor, define the scope and time horizon, identify stakeholders, and describe the organization's vision.
Objectives
Review the context for strategy formulation
Identify vision, scope and time horizon
Define how strategy framework will be applied
Assign the strategy facilitator
Approach
Define Strategy Tree
Define Business Capability Map
Engage Sponsor
Develop Business Disruption Map
Define time horizon
Define vision
Identify the list of stakeholders
Define a risk management plan
Assign facilitator
Techniques: RACI, Stakeholder Analysis, Concern Analysis
Actors
Lead Facilitator
Facilitator
Sponsor of the strategy
Output
Strategy tree
Business Disruption Map
Business Capability Map
Basic information about the strategy
List of stakeholders
Business Technology Glossary
Plan to manage strategy risks and strategy risk register
Activities
Preliminary Planning
There are different types or levels of strategy. Corporate strategy is at level 1 and sets the direction for the entire organization. Planning at this level requires some additional preparation and initiation activities to meet the overall requirements.
1. Define Strategy Tree
The strategy tree is a hierarchical representation of your organization's strategies. It is a cascade used to disseminate the overarching corporate strategy throughout the organization. The corporate strategy is always at level 1 and therefore the first strategy entry should be created when planning the corporate strategy. The Strategy Tree should provide the following Information:
Strategies at levels 1, 2, and 3 (Strategy Cascade)
Facilitator and owner of each strategy
The formulation status of the strategies
The execution status of the strategies
The access status of the current user
The strategy tree can be used to document existing strategies, plan future strategies by creating placeholders, or define strategies for which the sponsor has made a formal request.
Workflow: Manage Strategy Tree
2. Define Business Capability Map
The business capability map defines "what the organization should do" to achieve its goals. In the preliminary phase, facilitator should determine the approach to defining the business capability map for the organization. Usually one of the following two approaches are adopted:
Top-down approach: This approach involves business and technology stakeholders in the development of the capability map during strategy formulation. This approach is likely to result in a business capability model that is closely aligned with your business and has greater stakeholder support and buy-in. This approach works best when senior business and technology stakeholders are fully engaged and the necessary skills and resources are in place to plan and deliver the workshops required to develop the model.
Advantages: Consensus through participation, better alignment with corporate strategy. Disadvantages: Significant effort, energy and time, friction between stakeholders.
Bottom-up approach: This approach uses a reference model for your industry or a "straw man" model that is an initial concept version that can be discussed and improved. This is a faster approach, but the generic industry model or straw man model may not have deeper relevance to your business at the beginning. This approach works best when the required skills or availability of executive-level stakeholders are in question. In this case, you can adopt this approach and refine it over time to align with stakeholder concerns. Examples: BIAN, eTom, UK HE Capability Model
Advantages: minimal effort, accelerated implementation. Disadvantages: limited stakeholder engagement at the inception
If the sponsor and lead facilitator decide to use the bottom-up approach, the lead facilitator should create a straw man model in the system. We recommend this approach because of its advantages.
Workflow: Manage Business Capability Map
3. Business Disruption Map
Develop an initial catalog of business disruptions related to your organization and industry. It should include all internal and external challenges, opportunities and pain points which may have an impact on organizational outcomes.
Planning for All Strategies
The following are the key steps in the strategy planning process for all strategies:
Engage Sponsor
A sponsor
is a leader who plays a key role in formulating and implementing the strategy and is responsible for achieving the goals and key outcomes. There is only one accountable person for a strategy.
The first step in the planning process is to meet with the sponsor and obtain formal approval to formulate the strategy. This may take the form of a formal document signed by the sponsor, meeting minutes, or a simple email approving the work.
The sponsor should be informed of the following:
the framework for formulation and execution
the effort and time that may be required to formulate the strategy
the resources that may be needed, such as tools, meeting or video conferencing facility, or the time commitment of those involved
the InnowayIT application and its capabilities
a demo may also be organized to provide an overview of the application
Workflow: Manage Strategy
Capture concerns and vision
A concern is "a matter of interest or importance to stakeholders".
Discuss and record the sponsor's concerns. Prepare a list of questions in advance. Make sure the discussion is well-rounded and touches on important areas of strategy (Read more about Strategy Lenses). The focus should be on identifying and prioritizing the key decisions that will shape the organization's future.
Vision is an aspirational view of the future of the organization.
A vision creates a common purpose and motivates the team to action. A clear vision statement provides guidance to the employees and ensures that their actions are in line with the vision and not in conflict with it.
Define the scope
The scope of a strategy includes the business area or subject matter it is aimed at or relevant to. The scope may include business units, products, customer or market segments, capabilities and systems.
Define the time horizon
The time horizon of a strategy refers to the time frame within which the stakeholders intend to achieve their goals. Usually, the time horizon of a strategy is 3-5 years. Within this time horizon, there can be many OKR cadences, depending on the organizational situation.
Identify the list of stakeholders
Discuss the list of stakeholders with the sponsor. Ensure stakeholders from all relevant areas are involved in strategy formulation, including but not limited to business, technology, innovation, operations, risk, and marketing.
Assign Facilitator
A facilitator is
".. a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions. In doing so, the facilitator remains "neutral", meaning they do not take a particular position in the discussion" -- Wikipedia
At the planning stage, the Lead Facilitator can assign a Facilitator for this strategy if it has not already been done.
Define Glossary
Define a glossary of business and technology terms as a common language for stakeholders.
Workflow: Manage Strategy Glossary
Strategy Risk Manage
Document a plan to manage risks which will be discovered during the strategy formulation and execution process. A risk register should be created for the strategy.
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