Have you ever created a strategy that, when you take a moment to review, you realise hasn’t progressed as much as you would have liked?
Or worse, you have a strategy that no one seems to know about, no one remembers being involved in creating and just hasn’t been worked on since it was created?
It happens. Strategies that are lovingly created never to see the light of day again…
Thankfully, strategies are there to be adjusted, updated and altered. Just because you invested a lot of time and energy in to creating your strategy last year, doesn’t mean you have to grasp hold of your outdated plan and never let it go.
You can create a new one. But how do you create a strategy that doesn’t get forgotten or ignored? How do you create a strategy that sticks?
Here are 9 crucial tips to help you create strategies that stick
1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
There’s a fine line between ‘bold’ and ‘doable’ and the key is finding the sweet spot. Reaching for the stars is great but not if you and your team are so overwhelmed by what you are trying to achieve that they don’t know where, or how, to start.
2. Strategies all look very different.
What do you want your strategy to look like so that it means something to the people delivering it? For example, if you are a small organisation, do you actually need an all-singing all-dancing strategy or would something simpler suffice? You might not want to call it a strategy, but if you adopt a different term make sure that everyone knows what it is to avoid confusion.
3. Get the right people involved in the first place to create the strategy.
This includes involving them with the whole strategy, collaborating on it, and not just focusing on their bit, so there is alignment and cohesion across what you are trying to achieve.
4. Make sure the right people see your strategy and understand how they are involved.
They need to know what is required of them to make the strategy work. Build in accountability to every step to that people stick to what they say they are going to do.
5. Regular reviews are key.
Be crystal clear on who to involve and what information you need to review. If something is not working, don’t plough on regardless but decide what you need to change. A vital component of being able to review the work being done is ensuring there are measurable goals in the strategy in the first place.
6. Bring your strategy to life.
Make it feel real. Think about the impact and the real change having a strategy will create. Use language that means something to people so that it makes sense. Include examples of what you mean.
7. Be proud of your strategy and put it somewhere people can see it.
This sounds obvious but is easy to overlook. These days we are unlikely to have the strategic goals printed on the office wall. Instead, they are more likely to be found in a digital folder somewhere. Make sure people know that there is a strategy, what it is and where they can find it. They also need to know which part relates to their work.
8. Build “doing” the strategy into your culture.
This can take time and effort but it keeps the strategy sticky by regularly referring to it, talking about the impact and the value of pieces of work have over time in driving your strategy forward.
Are you lost in your strategy desert? Can we help you create strategies that stick?
Get in touch and we can talk about what you need and how we can help.
Photo by Graham Ruttan on Unsplash
