Get our email newsletterAs we move into the month of March, it is a good time to think of all of those summer days ahead when we will have more time to spend outdoors. The most common question these days is “so how are you going to spend your summer holidays?” Have you any planned yet?
Last month I talked on the need for a strategic plan. This month I want to carry it one step forward and talk about who needs to know about the plan. Should the plan be shared with staff and customers or is it just a creature of your board or management?
The answer is yes to everyone who either works for you or your customers. Every employee needs to know what the plan is so that they do not start new programs or projects that may be in conflict with your plan. Your front-end staff should know the contents of your strategic plan so that they can properly represent your plan and company/organization when answering enquiries o to the general public. Your customers should know what your plan is so that they have a good sense what you stand for and what your mission and vision statement are. Now I know that many companies or organizations put their mission and vision in a nice framed format in the reception area or near the entrance to their business. But how many of the employees actually see or read it? Everything anyone in the company or organization should reflect the direction of your strategic plan. Otherwise, what is the point of doing a plan in the first place? It would be like the captain of a ship telling the crew that they are heading somewhere but not telling them the actual destination or the direction that is needed to get there.
Does this applies to families as well? Yes it does. Parents often don’t tell their children what the plans for the day, week, month or year and low and behold, there are fights when schedules or plans conflict. Many families actually have family meetings to discuss things like this, and yes, even 5 year olds understand this stuff.
Planning takes all shapes and forms and here is a good one to watch – the ultimate in planning.
