At The Bailey Group, we just completed the first staff meeting in which the 2014 Strategic Plan was shared.  This was the first of a series of conversations to engage consultants and staff in the evolution of our vision and the resulting strategies that will be put in place in the coming year to help us reach this vision.

As the COO of the company, I play a role in the strategic planning process – mainly, making sure the process happens, ensuring that we have the capacity and resources to carry out the strategies, documenting the details of the plan, and putting the means in place to track progress. 

In comparison to the role of the CEO, my role is easy.  The role played by Leigh (and any CEO worth their stripes) requires significant courage and leadership. In a recent HBR article, Roger L. Martin talks about “The Big Lie of Strategic Planning” – the notion that the value and the challenge of strategic planning isn’t in the planning itself (the stuff that I do); it is in the act of making decisions that explicitly cut off possibilities and options.  We plan in order to reduce anxiety and lessen our fear of the unknown; true strategy is about grabbing the unknown by the collar and wrestling it to the ground. Taking a stance on a new direction.  Setting the course for a new destination.

From a leadership perspective, developing a strategy takes both skill and will. The skill to look into an unknown and murky future and place a bet on the best course of action based on the company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The will to make difficult choices on what the company will no longer do or say or pay attention to. And ultimately the courage to commit to the strategy for the long haul, knowing that there will be course corrections along the way.

As you embark on this new year, with the opportunity to clear the radar and set forth a new strategy, you will undoubtedly meet your own set of challenges. When you get stuck, call on the experts at The Bailey Group – we are an advisory firm dedicated to working with CEOs and their ELTs to increase their effectiveness in achieving business results.