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| Strategy Deployment "X" Matrix Template |
Here is the basic idea,
to be done by a Leadership Team:
1.
Set
the Goals and Objectives
Companies set long term SMART*
goals – typically 3 years out, and align those to 1-year Objectives. Specifically, articulate what needs to be
done in the next 12 months to further the 3-year goals.
*Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely – google it!
2.
Prioritize
Corresponding Initiatives
After goal setting, prioritize
specific projects or “Initiatives” which will accomplish the 1-year
Objectives. These Initiatives are
outside the realm of “sustaining” work, and are truly projects or initiating
programs that will further the goals. If
the initiative is to institute a program which will become sustaining, there
will be a point where the “creation” work is completed, and the program itself
will become sustaining.
The trouble with the
X-Matrix, however, is that there are often too many potential Initiatives which
could accomplish the 1-year Objectives aligned with 3-year Goals, and that it
stops short of HOW these Initiatives will actually be accomplished.
2.1
Use
the Prioritization Matrix
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| AJC's Prioritization Matrix Tool |
This is where AJC’s Prioritization Matrix comes in. After all, there are many ways to accomplish
a goal, but not all can realistically be done given limited resources. Remember, this is work that is above
and beyond “sustaining” activities! The
point here is to ACCOMPLISH these things, not to burn out trying to do too
much. I once saw a company’s list of
projects for the year – there were about 50 items in 8-point font printed on an
11x17 piece of paper. They were 7 months
into the year, and when I asked how most of the projects were coming along,
they said they were late on every single one of them. No big surprise there!
*Please read the Strategic
Planning article for more details on the methodology using the
Prioritization Matrix tool.
Some might think that the
Strategic Planning work is now done – now we know what we need to do in order
to achieve our short-term objectives which align to our long-term goals. However, Strategy Deployment takes it two
steps further, and AJC takes it another step even after that.
3.
Define
Success Metrics
First, we define objective
metrics which will indicate success or achievement of each initiative. In some cases, these may be to meet schedule
and budget goals. Some metrics may be
binary, such as to sign a new client over a certain dollar amount. Some are process indicators, such as
throughput time for new product initiation, which theoretically could increase
capacity for handling a larger volume of new business and enable increased
sales and therefore revenue. Whatever
success looks like for each Initiative, this must be measured such that we can
determine if we’ve accomplished our Objectives.
4.
Assign
Accountable People
Finally, each Initiative
will be assigned a Primary and Secondary accountability lead. The Primary is the Single-Point-Of-Contact,
or SPOC who is ultimately responsible for accomplishing the Initiative successfully. The Secondary is designated for two reasons:
First, they take over Primary responsibilities as backup when the SPOC is
traveling, on vacation, or sick. Second,
they act as a sounding board and advisor to the SPOC when determining the best
course of action or for decisions which must be made during the course of
executing the Initiative.
All too often, things are
left undone, or timelines are prolonged simply because no one else is
watching. When Primary and Secondary
leads meet regularly, and with the entire team as needed, Initiatives have a
funny way of getting done in timely fashion.
5.
Create
High Level Implementation Plans
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| AJC's Implementation Plan Template |
The Strategy Deployment
Matrix, and the helpful Prioritization Matrix, may now be complete, but AJC
finds that this is not always enough to get the Primary and Secondary leads for
each Initiative going. In a Strategic
Planning session that I facilitated a few weeks ago, the Leads were very
concerned about HOW they should go about accomplishing their Initiatives. AJC has developed a simple High-Level Implementation
Plan template that allows the team to quickly list tasks, owners, notes,
durations, and deadlines for each of the major steps involved in accomplishing
a task. While the Implementation Plan may
be high level, meaning there will often be several subtasks associated with
most line items listed, it is a great place to start.
For example, if the
3-Year Goal is to get 3 new clients in the Top 10 revenue grossing client list,
a 1-year Objective may be to have one client in that list, and 2 in the
pipeline. An Initiative to support that
may be to Complete Sales Training for the Outside Sales team. One task in that Initiative would be to Select
Specific Sales Training Program. That
task will require the subtasks of research, comparison, discussion, decisions, logistical
considerations, and signing a contract.
However, the high-level task is to decide who to use, and that is what
goes into the Implementation Plan.
Get It Done
This process of Strategic
Planning is not rocket science, and can be done by individual teams. However, just like each Initiative needs designated
Accountable Person, undertaking this process with your Leadership Team needs
its own Primary Lead, and often involves including outside facilitation.
Read
this article and more on AJC’s blog, and sign up for our newsletter online at: http://andreajonesconsulting.com/blog.aspx.
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