Strategy is more than a vision – it’s a combination of planning, implementing, measuring, timelines, and individual accountability. In our consulting practice, my partner and I often hear from companies that want a plan but don’t understand the hard work and follow through needed to bring it to life and fruition. When challenged to cascade a plan throughout the organization, many leaders worry that the plan may be too cumbersome for operations. In fact, it’s that cascade that allows every employee to identify what their part of the plan is and lets them better understand how their efforts can be tied to the plan’s overall outcomes. We often ask business leaders how they and all their employees will know, at the end of the year, whether they’ve been effective: that goes well beyond job descriptions and performance evaluations, and weaves each of them into the fabric of the organization’s strategy. Vision indeed must be followed by individual efforts – it’s not enough to stare at a plan, everyone must actively implement their part of it. In business and life, follow through are critical to success. Make every employee the owner and master of their own plan and you’ll be well along the way to achieving your strategic goals today.
Vance Havner (1901 – 1986): American Baptist pastor
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