Synergy Strategic Planning. Chris Alexander
for an ever-growing and changing world?
In 1960, 50% of the work force was involved in manufacturing—making things. By the year 2000, only 15% were involved in making things and 66% were in the service sector. Does your business allow for these kinds of changes? Since 1983, U.S. commerce and industry has added more than 100 million computers. Mobile phone subscribers jumped from zero in 1983 to 200 million in 2006. Technology is radically changing the speed and direction of work flow and communication. The housing boom and bust, the credit crunch, the price of oil—all play a major role in running a successful business. The vision must remain dynamic and flexible to survive changing world realities.
6. Does the vision take all the organization’s potential for accomplishment into account?
This is a complex question but can be simplified by asking your group: “What would success look like in five to ten years taking all of our potential for accomplishment into account?” A free-flowing and creative debate should form the foundation for this question—allowing “out-of-the-box-thinking.” Thoughts and ideas should be listed and revisited, and no area should be excluded. You will be surprised at the hidden desires and subconscious underpinnings that reveal themselves. Following are examples of how well this question works.
Some years ago I conducted a strategic planning retreat for Amylin Biotech Corporation, then headed up by Ted Green and Dr. Tim Rink, who both supported the visionary focus of this question. Interestingly, one of the outcomes from this question, and the lively debate around it, was that the senior executive team—for the first time—reached a meeting of minds that the true vision for Amylin was to become a fully fledged pharmaceutical company, and not a boutique biotech company. This resulted in the renaming of the company to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and, in turn, clarified its vision: core values and goals.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals has gone on to become one of San Diego’s best places to work and their current mission is as follows:
“Amylin Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving lives through the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines.”
I worked with several companies in the building industry who made significant changes by asking this question. Like Amylin, they reaped enormous benefits in leadership focus, levels of quality, and customer satisfaction, thus reducing costs and increasing revenues. It is common knowledge that the building industry worldwide has undergone enormous transformation. In California, the SB800 Bill (arbitration bill) ratified in the State Assembly in 2003 required homebuilders to improve the quality of their product and services to homebuyers.
When I consulted with these companies and went through the vision guideline questions, it was soon discovered that many internal changes were needed to be in compliance with the SB800 Bill. Because of this, I guided several companies through the process of building customer-driven cultures, which meant that we needed to align systems and processes, and focus all staff on a shared destiny.
The first step was conducting several Synergy Team Power Retreats to lay the foundation for change. All staff members from sales, accounting, construction, customer service, land acquisition, planning and engineering, and the entire senior executive team attended the retreats. To demonstrate commitment to the shared destiny, the senior executive team attended more than one retreat. This formed a foundation of solid communication, willing attitudes, and a productive, transparent work environment— shifting mentality and creating a critical mass of ownership to the shared destiny.
Simultaneously, we conducted a series of strategic planning workshops that went through an initial education step and then a series of workshops that included interactive group dynamic exercises resulting in building a vision statement, a clear set of values, and broader generic goals (e.g., improving quality, customer service, and teamwork). Once each executive team reached this stage and the vision was completed and ratified, it was circulated throughout the company for input and approval. Some changes were made, mostly “word-smithing” in nature, until the vision statement was finally published and distributed.
“We have always been committed to building trust, communication, and respect with our customers and employees. Our customer-care program is a sentiment to our dedication of providing world-class service and helping people to achieve the American dream.”
SCOTT GRUGEL, DIVISIONAL PRESIDENT, INTERIOR SPECIALISTS, INC.
F.W. Woolworth’s Ten–Cent Vision
When young F.W. Woolworth was a store clerk, he convinced his boss to support his vision to have a ten-cent sale to reduce inventory. The boss agreed, and the idea was a resounding success.
This inspired Woolworth to open his own store and price items at a nickel and a dime. He needed capital for such a venture, so he asked his boss to supply the capital for part interest in the store.
His boss turned him down flat. “The idea is too risky,” he told Woolworth. “There are not enough items to sell for five and ten cents.” Woolworth went ahead without his boss’s backing, and he not only was successful in his first store, but eventually he owned a chain of F.W. Woolworth stores across the nation. Later, his former boss was heard to remark, “As far as I can figure out, every word I used to turn Woolworth down cost me about a million dollars.”
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
7. Is the vision inspiring and uplifting?
I am often asked: “How do I motivate my team—should I give them more money?” Money always helps, but if you make the relationship with your team and what they do for you just about money, then that will be the primary motivator. Your relationship with employees should be about more than just a paycheck. Generation “Y” and for that matter, other generations want a deeper relationship. They want a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose through more meaningful work, recognition, fun, and involvement in the things that affect their jobs and future.
Inspirational leaders and companies inspire their employees with uplifting dream pictures, which ignites one of the true keys to motivation: the possibility and probability of achieving something extraordinarily great—together.
Imagination is the power switch for all potential. It is where a visual image is engineered into a seed of creation—the doorway through which all of us manifest our hopes and dreams, which spark the flames of directed passion and shared destiny.
When the Disney creative team invented the word “imagineering” for the Epcot Center, they knew just as Walt Disney did that this was where the creative force of great things began: in the engineering of a great vision.
Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, in their book Building Your Company’s Vision, talked about creating a BHAG—A Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
“A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as a unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it’s achieved its goal. People like to shoot for finish lines.”
Companies that create an inspiring and uplifting vision mobilize the energy and focus of their team, and lay a foundation for the creation of a high-performance team culture. It is critical and strategically necessary.
When planning for a year,
plant corn.
When planning