Strategic Planning:
How I did it
How many of us find ourselves going to work day after day, doing a good job, and fulfilling our main responsibilities? We may work hard to meet expectations of others, but we too often get caught in the trap of the day-to-day work. We neglect to look for strategic planning opportunities on the horizon or make decisions that can influence our future in a positive way. With the wide range of demands in our lives, it is so easy to routinely function this way; but in reality, we must ask ourselves, "What are we missing that could enrich our lives?"
We, at CMOE, have created a concept we call Applied Strategic Planning. When we think of strategy, we often think of "corporate strategic planning". But this is different. Applied Strategic Planning is done at an individual level. It is how everyone, regardless of position or situation, can apply a strategic thought process to their lives. Imagine the results organizations would achieve if all team members where thinking strategically about their individual areas of responsibility.
As I have researched, written, and more importantly applied these ideas to my own life, I made some fascinating discoveries. Before I developed an interest in this topic, I couldn't really say that I was very good at looking at my job, family, or life responsibilities in a strategic planning way. Did I plan and set goals? Sure. But I didn't position myself for future success by paying attention to the developments occurring in my world. Improving my strategic mindset has been an exciting endeavor for me.
I began to use CMOE's Applied Strategic Planning Roadmap on a regular basis to identify strategic targets in order to help me achieve the success I wanted. After using this strategic planning process for a while, I realized that "being strategic" started to become part of my behavior as a leader, individual contributor, mother, wife, etc. I find myself thinking in a more strategic fashion everyday and in every decision I make. Through regular practice it has evolved into something more; something engrained in me.
I have also discovered that strategic planning is not only a skill, but it is also a behavior. Building that skill set, if you don't innately have it, must be the first step and then, over time, it will evolve into a behavior.
Applying this strategic planning process to my life has given me the confidence and courage to ignite positive change. I know that I can influence my future in any way I want. It has given me passion about the future and what I can create.
An excerpt from George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession Act II sums it up well: "The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."
If you find that you are like me and ocassionally think about the future and you make good plans, I would challenge you to take it a step further and become truly strategic.
To learn more about CMOE's Applied Strategic Planning process read Ahead of the Curve by Steven J. Stowell, Ph.D. and Stephanie S. Mead or CMOE's Applied Strategic Planning Workshop. Contact a CMOE Representative toll free at (888)262-2499 or email us at info@cmoe.com
Stephanie S. Mead is the Director of Operations for CMOE Inc. Stephanie has a Master's degree in Organization Development and specializes in leadership development and building high-performance teams.
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