I learned in a Bible class that one meaning of the word "holy" is "to be set apart." In the case of religion, obviously, whatever is considered holy is being set apart for God.
Extending this idea to business can help explain executives who act as if they are the only ones involved in developing strategy for their organizations.
Many executives commonly think, believe, and act as if strategic planning activities are “holy” since they are set apart as something in which only leaders can participate.
Everyone else gets told (ideally) or not (far too often) what the company strategy means for employees, customers, and other stakeholder groups. This communication about strategy may be so superficial it is nearly impossible for an employee to understand and connect to the business strategy to effectively it to life with customers.
Who Participates in Strategic Planning Activities?
At its heart, how the broader organization participates in strategic planning activities is a philosophical issue about what “owning” a company’s strategy means. This extends to who in an organization (or even outside an organization) provides input, hypothesizes about, develops, shapes, articulates, and implements strategy.
From spending most of my career in the Fortune 500 world leading and participating in developing strategy, the approach The Brainzooming Group supports is that strategy SHOULD NOT be considered “holy.” We push for and support more people participating in developing strategy because it paves the way for dramatic marketplace success.
Our thinking about strategy permeates the content here.
Creating Strategic Impact and Results!!!
Additionally, In this mini-book, we share ten lessons for how senior executives should approach developing strategy as an open, collaborative process that meaningfully involves participants and insights from inside and outside their organizations.
These lessons from our work with clients across industries lead to discovering new ideas and changing how organizations serve customers more successfully. The lessons include how to efficiently incorporate a wide number of perspectives about delivering value and more seamlessly linking strategy and implementation throughout the organization.
Download your copy of “Results” today and get a big head start beating your competitors to new heights for strategic impact and dramatic results!
