I recently gave a presentation to the Sunrise Rotary Club in Lee's Summit. The topic of my presentation was on the necessity for companies and organizations of all sizes to have a formal, written strategic plan. Having goals, in writing, is the first step toward making those goals a reality. For an organization to come together and move forward, all the people involved need to have a common understanding of the mission, and practical understanding of the consequences of failure and the benefits of success. If the culture of an organization is aligned, it reflects the vision, mission, and values in everyday life throughout the organization. Successful organizations determine where they want to be, and then take the necessary steps, addressing all of the factors of their organizational culture to get there.
I took a few questions afterwards and one question in particular really stuck with me. The question was, "Where do you begin?" What a great question! I suppose to some, the whole notion of formal goals and formal planning can appear a bit daunting, but it doesn't have to be.
Start with... "What are some of your biggest challenges?" "What keeps you up at night?" "What would you change if you had a magic wand?" "What do you measure?" "What is success for you?" If you can begin to answer these questions you end up with some type of improved result for you business or your career. And that is a place to start.
The big question becomes, “Do I plan based on watching competition, or do I play my own game regardless of what they’re doing?” The answer is probably some of both. The idea is to identify a factor of strength on your part and/or a weakness on their part that can be exploited.
The focus and goal of a basic foundation and business philosophy of any business is to determine “Why we’re in this, anyway?”
Wes Wingfield is a Certified Business Coach and the President of Highest Ambition LLC, a Kansas City based organizational development company that specializes in leadership development, strategic planning and executive coaching; delivering what his clients want with a return on their investment. www.highestambition.com phone 816-589-6138 or write him at wes.wingfield@highestambition.com
