31 Days to Becoming a Better Leader

Foundations

Day #6: Strategic Plan

Success is 20% skills and 80% strategy. You might know how to succeed, but more importantly, what’s your plan to succeed? – Jim Rohn

The words “Strategic Plan” strike fear into the hearts and minds of entrepreneurs. It sounds restrictive, cumbersome, time-consuming, and many other things. Many think that having a written strategic plan limits their creativity when the inverse is true. A strategic plan is a container for creativity. Once you have identified the roadmap, then the energy and creativity can focus on implementation, not struggling with what to do next.

It’s time to stop spinning our wheels, so to speak.

At SynerVision, we have created a proprietary road map that we call, the Solution Map. Basically, it’s defining where we want to be at some point in the future (typically 3-5 years) and then defining how we will get there.

In this series of podcast sessions, I will give you ideas on the various components of the road map. If you purchase the action guide for the program, then the outline will be yours in summary form. Consider purchasing the action guide. It’s a workbook with all this content and some forms for implementation.

You need a strategy for the following reasons:

• You stop spinning your wheels trying to figure out what to do next
• You have a clear pathway for implementation to share with your team
• You have a platform for team engagement
• You have organizational goals to share with team members responsible for areas of responsibility to create department or project goals in support of the organization’s goals
• Your investors, donors, sponsors, or customers understand that you have a plan that will create value with their money
• It is a reference for your financial team member to create a budget and spending plan that will support the work
• It clarifies the skills needed to accomplish the mission
• It provides a structure for the marketing team member to build a solid marketing plan to generate income
• It gives the leader (that’s you) a format for leading the people and getting results

Pay the upfront cost. Spend the time now to create the plan. It’s far less expensive than retracing steps and doing things over. If your work is essential, then don’t waste time creating a structure for success.

Next: Day 7 Long-Term Objectives and Short-Term Goals