Preparation / Conducting The Strategic Planning.

Guidelines to Keep Perspective View during Planning.

Many managers spend most of their time "fighting fires" in the workplace. -- their time is spent realizing and reacting to problems. For these managers -- and probably for many of us -- it can be very difficult to stand back and take a hard look at what we want to accomplish and how we want to accomplish it. We're too buy doing what we think is making progress. However, one of the major differences between new and experienced managers is the skill to see the broad perspective, to take the long view on what we want to do and how we're going to do it. One of the best ways to develop this skill is through ongoing experience in strategic planning. The following guidelines may help you to get the most out of your strategic planning experience.
1. The real benefit of the strategic planning process is the process, not the plan document.
2. There is no "perfect" plan. There's doing your best at strategic thinking and implementation, and learning from what you're doing to enhance what you're doing the next time around.
3. The strategic planning process is usually not an "aha!" experience. It's like the management process itself -- it's a series of small moves that together keep the organization doing things right as it heads in the right direction.
4. In planning, things usually aren't as bad as you fear nor as good as you'd like.
5. Start simple, but start!

Stacking the deck in favor of a successful Strategic Planning Effort

{ How not to do Strategic Palnning}

It's best to have a team of planners conduct strategic planning. Therefore, it's important to have skills in developing and facilitating groups.

Commitees ( fro example,may have committees do environmental scan,get input from others) Conflict management in Groups.
Conflict Management (this topic provides basics in managing conflict in groups)]

Consultants :You may want to use a consultant to help you plan and carry out strategic planning

Creative Thinking :Very important when setting goals and how they will be reached

Innovation : Very important when designing strategies or methods to reach goals

Decision making : Useful when selecting which goals and strategies to follow.

Facilitating in Face to Face groups : These skills are very important when helping a group come to consensus

Focus groups ; Get input from internal and external customers to identify issues ,goals,methods

Group –based Problem Solving and decision making:These activities are at the core of stragic planning

Meeting management : Planners make a decision in meetings;these sklills will be very useful .

Problem solving : This is helpful,especially when tackling difficult decisions.

Value Diversity : It’s best tpo egt a wide variety of perspectives when planning.

Need Consultant or facilitator to help you with Planning?

You may want to consider using a facilitator from outside of your organization if:
1. Your organization has not conducted strategic planning before.
2. For a variety of reasons, previous strategic planning was not deemed to be successful.
3. There appears to be a wide range of ideas and/or concerns among organization members about strategic planning and current organizational issues to be addressed in the plan.
4. There is no one in the organization who members feel has sufficient facilitation skills.
5. No one in the organization feels committed to facilitating strategic planning for the organization.
6. Leaders believe that an inside facilitator will either inhibit participation from others or will not have the opportunity to fully participate in planning themselves.
7. Leaders want an objective voice, i.e., someone who is not likely to have strong predispositions about the organization's strategic issues and ideas.

Who should be involved :

Strategic planning should be conducted by a planning team. Consider the following guidelines when developing the team.
(Note that reference to boards of directors is in regard to organizations that are corporations.)
1. The chief executive and board chair should be included in the planning group, and should drive development and implementation of the plan.
2. Establish clear guidelines for membership, for example, those directly involved in planning, those who will provide key information to the process, those who will review the plan document, those who will authorize the document, etc.
3. A primary responsibility of a board of directors is strategic planning to effectively lead the organization. Therefore, insist that the board be strongly involved in planning, often including assigning a planning committee (often, the same as the executive committee).
4. Ask if the board membership is representative of the organization’s clientele and community, and if they are not, the organization may want to involve more representation in planning. If the board chair or chief executive balks at including more of the board members in planning, then the chief executive and/or board chair needs to seriously consider how serious the organization is about strategic planning!
5. Always include in the group, at least one person who ultimately has authority to make strategic decisions, for example, to select which goals will be achieved and how.
6. Ensure that as many stakeholders as possible are involved in the planning process.
7. Involve at least those who are responsible for composing and implementing the plan.
8. Involve someone to administrate the process, including arranging meetings, helping to record key information, helping with flipcharts, monitoring status of prework, etc.
9. Consider having the above administrator record the major steps in the planning process to help the organization conduct its own planning when the plan is next updated.

Note the following considerations:
10. Different types of members may be needed more at different times in the planning process, for example, strong board involvement in determining the organization’s strategic direction (mission, vision, and values), and then more staff involvement in determining the organization’s strategic analysis to determine its current issues and goals, and then primarily the staff to determine the strategies needed to address the issues and meet the goals.
11. In general, where there's any doubt about whether a certain someone should be involved in planning, it's best to involve them. It's worse to exclude someone useful then it is to have one or two extra people in planning -- this is true in particular with organizations where board members often do not have extensive expertise about the organization and its products or services.
12. Therefore, an organization may be better off to involve board and staff planners as much as possible in all phases of planning. Mixing the board and staff during planning helps board members understand the day-to-day issues of the organization, and helps the staff to understand the top-level issues of the organization.

You shoud invite all the people concerned to strataegic planning groups.

How Many Planning Meetings will we need ?

Number and Duration of Planning Meetings

1. New planners usually want to know how many meetings will be needed and what is needed for each meeting, i.e., they want a procedure for strategic planning. The number of meetings depends on whether the organization has done planning before, how many strategic issues and goals the organization faces, whether the culture of the organization prefers short or long meetings, and how much time the organization is willing to commit to strategic planning.
2. Attempt to complete strategic planning in at most two to three months, or momentum will be lost and the planning effort may fall apart.

Scheduling of Meetings

1. Have each meeting at most two to three weeks apart when planning. It's too easy to lose momentum otherwise.
2. The most important factor in accomplishing complete attendance to planning meetings is evidence of strong support from executives. Therefore, ensure that executives a) issue clear direction that they strongly support and value the strategic planning process, and b) are visibly involved in the planning process.

An Example Planning Process and Design of Meetings

One example of a brief planning process is the following which includes four planning meetings and develops a top-level strategic plan which is later translated into a yearly operating plan by the staff:
1. Planning starts with a half-day or all-day board retreat and includes introductions by the board chair and/or chief executive, their explanations of the organization's benefits from strategic planning and the organization's commitment to the planning process, the facilitator's overview of the planning process, and the board chairs and/or chief executive’s explanation of who will be involved in the planning process. In the retreat, the organization may then begin the next step in planning, whether this be visiting their mission, vision, values, etc. or identifying current issues and goals to which strategies will need to be developed. (Goals are often reworded issues.) Planners are asked to think about strategies before the next meeting.
2. The next meeting focuses on finalizing strategies to deal with each issue. Before the next meeting, a subcommittee is charged to draft the planning document, which includes updated mission, vision, and values, and also finalized strategic issues, goals, strategies. This document is distributed before the next meeting.
3. In the next meeting, planners exchange feedback about the content and format of the planning document. Feedback is incorporated in the document and it is distributed before the next meeting.
4. The next meeting does not require entire attention to the plan, e.g., the document is authorized by the board during a regular board meeting.
5. Note that in the above example, various subcommittees might be charged to gather additional information and distribute it before the next planning meeting.
6 Note, too, that the staff may take this document and establish a yearly operating plan which details what strategies will be implemented over the next year, who will do them, and by when.
7. No matter how serious organizations are about strategic planning, they usually have strong concerns about being able to find time to attend frequent meetings. This concern can be addressed by ensuring meetings are well managed, having short meetings as needed rather than having fewer but longer meetings, and having realistic expectations from the planning project.

Always First Do "Plan for a Plan"

Too often, planners jump into the planning process by reviewing the organization's mission or then establishing a vision and goals to achieve in the future. Instead, planners should always start by doing a "plan for a plan." When planner skip this step, they too often produce a plan that is not relevant to the organization, unrealistic to apply, and inflexible to the culture and limitations of the organization.

Strategic Analyses -- Analyzing External and Internal Environments

(Many planners prefer to start strategic planning by clarifying the mission, vision and/or values of the organization. Other planners prefer to start by taking a wide look around the external environment of the organization and also the inside of the organization, and then clarifying/strategizing what the organization should do as a result of what the planners find. If you prefer to address the mission, vision and/or values next, then skip to those sections later on below.)

A frequent complaint about strategic plans is that they are merely "to-do" lists of what to accomplish over the next few years. Or, others complain that strategic planning never seems to come in handy when the organization is faced with having to make a difficult, major decision. Or, other complain that strategic planning really doesn't help the organization face the future. These complaints arise because organizations fail to conduct a thorough strategic analysis as part of their strategic planning process. Instead, planners decide to plan only from what they know now. This makes the planning process much less strategic and a lot more guesswork. Strategic analysis is the heart of the strategic planning process and should not be ignored.

Taking a wide look around the outside of the organization to dentify.

Opportunities and Threats

An external analysis usually includes looking at various trends, including political, economic, societal, technological and ecological.

What is an Environmental Scan ?

Environmental Scanning.

Consider these Diving Force Impacts.

Taking Stock(very basic overview of environmental sceanning)

Look out ! Environmental Scanning for associations.

Also consider the needs and wants of stakeholders -- do a stakeholder analysis.:

Stackholder Analysis and Consultations.

Looking around Inside of Organization to Identify

Strengths and Weeknesses.

The following assessments might be useful in helping you to take a look around the inside of your organization -- to assess the quality of all of its operations.

Organizational Assessments for Profits and non profits.

People problems masquerading as Business problems.

For more particulars on the topic ,,SWOT Analysis, Monitoring and managing change in implimanting new strategy and related topics :write with your quarries to RK Gopal Nanduri on rkgnanduri@gmail.com .

An Overview Of Understanding of Strategic Planning.

Introduction –What is strategic Planning?

There Are Various Different Views and Models -- and the Process You Use Depends

Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service or program.

There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization's environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners, etc. For example, there are a variety of strategic planning models, including goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario (some would assert that scenario planning is more of a technique than model), etc.

1) Goals-based planning is probably the most common and starts with focus on the organization's mission (and vision and/or values), goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action planning (who will do what and by when).

2) Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing the organization, strategies to address those issues and action plans.

3) Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organization's vision and values, and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values. Some planners prefer a particular approach to planning, eg, appreciative inquiry.

Some plans are scoped to one year, many to three years, and some to five to ten years into the future. Some plans include only top-level information and no action plans. Some plans are five to eight pages long, while others can be considerably longer.

Quite often, an organization's strategic planners already know much of what will go into a strategic plan (this is true for business planning, too). However, development of the strategic plan greatly helps to clarify the organization's plans and ensure that key leaders are all "on the same script". Far more important than the strategic plan document, is the strategic planning process itself.

Also, in addition to the size of the organization, differences in how organizations carry out the planning activities are more of a matter of the nature of the participants in the organization -- than its for-profit/nonprofit status. For example, detail-oriented people may prefer a linear, top-down, general-to-specific approach to planning. On the other hand, rather artistic and highly reflective people may favor of a highly divergent and "organic" approach to planning.

Some Basic Descriptions of Strategic Planning -- and a Comparison to Business Planning

· What is strategic planning?

· Are you implementing any strategic planning?

· Strategic planning or business planning ?

· The difference between strategic planning and financial planning.

· Metaphors be with you : The strategist as poet.

Some Different Models of Strategic Planning :

· Basic overviews of various Strategic Planning models.

· Should I use Goals- Based or issue based planning?

· The organic model od strategic planning

· Scenario planning : A prudent activity for any organization strategic intuition.

· The drivers Model : The secret to facilitationg Strategy.

NOTE: Much of the following information is in regard to goals-based strategic planning, probably the most common form of strategic planning. However, issues-based planning is also a very popular approach to strategic planning -- an approach still too-often forgotten.

For-Profit Versus Nonprofit Strategic Planning

Major differences in how organizations carry out the various steps and associated activities in the strategic planning process are more of a matter of the size of the organization -- than its for-profit/nonprofit status. Small nonprofits and small for-profits tend to conduct somewhat similar planning activities that are different from those conducted in large organizations. On the other hand, large nonprofits and large for-profits tend to conduct somewhat similar planning activities that are different from those conducted in small organizations. (The focus of the planning activities is often different between for-profits and nonprofits. Nonprofits tend to focus more on matters of board development, fundraising and volunteer management. For-profits tend to focus more on activities to maximize profit.)

Therefore, the reader is encouraged to review a variety of the materials linked from this page, whether he or she is from a nonprofit or for-profit organization. Items below are marked as "nonprofit" in case the reader still prefers to focus on information presented in the context of nonprofit planning.

(An upcoming section includes numerous overviews of the overall strategic planning process various Overviews.

Benefits of Strategic Planning.

Strategic planning serves a variety of purposes in organizations, including to:
1. Clearly define the purpose of the organization and to establish realistic goals and objectives consistent with that mission in a defined time frame within the organization’s capacity for implementation.
2. Communicate those goals and objectives to the organization’s constituents.
3. Develop a sense of ownership of the plan.
4. Ensure the most effective use is made of the organization’s resources by focusing the resources on the key priorities.
5. Provide a base from which progress can be measured and establish a mechanism for informed change when needed.
6. Listen to everyone’s opinions in order to build consensus about where the organization is going.

Other reasons include that strategic planning:
7. Provides clearer focus for the organization, thereby producing more efficiency and effectiveness.
8. Bridges staff/employees and the board of directors (in the case of corporations).
9. Builds strong teams in the board and in the staff/employees (in the case of corporations).
10. Provides the glue that keeps the board members together (in the case of corporations).
11.Produces great satisfaction and meaning among planners, especially around a common vision.
12. Increases productivity from increased efficiency and effectiveness.
13. Solves major problems in the organization.

When should Strategic Planning Be Done ?

The scheduling for the strategic planning process depends on the nature and needs of the organization and the its immediate external environment. For example, planning should be carried out frequently in an organization whose products and services are in an industry that is changing rapidly . In this situation, planning might be carried out once or even twice a year and done in a very comprehensive and detailed fashion (that is, with attention to mission, vision, values, environmental scan, issues, goals, strategies, objectives, responsibilities, time lines, budgets, etc). On the other hand, if the organization has been around for many years and is in a fairly stable marketplace, then planning might be carried out once a year and only certain parts of the planning process, for example, action planning (objectives, responsibilities, time lines, budgets, etc) are updated each year. Consider the following guidelines:
1. Strategic planning should be done when an organization is just getting started. (The strategic plan is usually part of an overall business plan, along with a marketing plan, financial plan and operational/management plan.)
2. Strategic planning should also be done in preparation for a new major venture, for example, developing a new department, division, major new product or line of products, etc.
3. Strategic planning should also be conducted at least once a year in order to be ready for the coming fiscal year (the financial management of an organization is usually based on a year-to-year, or fiscal year, basis). In this case, strategic planning should be conducted in time to identify the organizational goals to be achieved at least over the coming fiscal year, resources needed to achieve those goals, and funded needed to obtain the resources. These funds are included in budget planning for the coming fiscal year. However, not all phases of strategic planning need be fully completed each year. The full strategic planning process should be conducted at least once every three years. As noted above, these activities should be conducted every year if the organization is experiencing tremendous change.
4. Each year, action plans should be updated.
5. Note that, during implementation of the plan, the progress of the implementation should be reviewed at least on a quarterly basis by the board. Again, the frequency of review depends on the extent of the rate of change in and around the organization.

For more details on conducting Strategic planning, SWOT analysis of your organization contact RK Gopal Nanduri on rkgnanduri@gmail.com

Role of Good Thoughts in attaining peace at work place .

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.”
Marcus Aurelius

“Possession of material riches, without inner peace, is like dying of thirst while bathing in a lake.”
Paramahansa Yogananda

Finding peace within is a wonderful but also a difficult thing. It is easy to go looking for it in the wrong places.

So here are FIVE timeless thoughts to help guide you to the places where you can actually find it.

1. Simplify.

“The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one’s life.”
Peace Pilgrim

Making thing simpler has certainly brought a lot of inner peace to my life. So, a few of my favorite suggestions on how to simplify your life:

• Use a limited to-do list. Only 2 or 3 of the most important things.
• Set limits. Set limits for daily checking of inboxes. I do it only once a day. Set time limits for small decisions and make them within seconds after you have thought about them to avoid procrastination and overthinking. Set time limits for tasks such as 15 minutes each day for answering emails or for using Twitter. Set a limit for commitments and say no to be able to feel less stress and produce better results.
• Remember to “keep things extremely simple”. I have written down that sentence on my white board and it is a daily and constant reminder that helps me when I lose my way.

2. Accept.

“Acceptance of others, their looks, their behaviors, their beliefs, bring you an inner peace and tranquility – instead of anger and resentment.”
Unknown

When you accept what is you stop feeding energy into resisting what is. You don’t make a problem more powerful and sticky in your mind. Instead, somewhat counter intuitively, when you accept what is it loses much of its power. It just is.

And you feel stillness inside. Now, accepting what is doesn’t mean to give up. It just means that you put yourself in a better position take action if necessary. Because now you can see more clearly, you can focus your energy towards what you want and take the appropriate action to change your situation.

3. Forgive.

“Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions.”
Gerald Jampolsky

By accepting what is it is much easier to let go of things and to forgive what has happened.

Forgiveness is important because as long as you don’t forgive someone you are linked to that person. Your thoughts will return to the person who wronged you and what s/he did over and over again. The emotional link between the two of you is so strong and inflicts much suffering in you and – as a result of your inner turmoil – most often in other people around you too.

When you forgive you do not only release the other person. You set yourself free too from all of that agony.

One thing to keep in mind is to not just forgive others but also yourself. By forgiving yourself – instead of resenting yourself for something you did a week or 10 years ago – you make the habit of forgiveness more and more of a natural part of you. And so forgiving others becomes easier too.

Also, what you think is a question of forgiving others you may sometimes – after some time and inner struggle – discover is just as much, if not more, about forgiving yourself rather than the other person.

4. Do what you enjoy.

“Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you’ll have more success than you could possibly have imagined.”
Roger Caras

When you do what you enjoy there is a natural peace that arises within. You are in alignment with your outer world. This also leads to a lot more success than if you have a lot of inner turmoil and really don’t care that much for your work.

One of my favorite tips for finding things you enjoy or love doing is simply to explore life. To be curious and try things out and see what you think of them. This can bring many insights both about yourself and about how things really are when you do them rather than when they are just theories floating around in your head.

5. Be careful with your inner peace.

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
St. Francis de Sales

By using the tips above and by living in the present movement you can find a lot more inner peace. Not only during days when things go as planned. But also on days when your world is upset and things aren’t so easy. On such days your inner peace will be very useful to help you make good decisions and to get things done.

So be smart, stay calm and be careful with your inner peace.

Simple Ways to Improve Teamwork in the Workplace

Working effectively as a team requires trust, accountability, commitment, organization, communication, time management and conflict resolution skills.

As the popular saying goes, 'There is no 'I' in Team,' and therefore working as a team requires individuals to be able to effectively work together and in doing so learning to put personal feelings to one side. This is certainly no easy task as everyone comes together having experienced a whole range of issues and often carrying much baggage.

Dysfunctional Teamwork within the Workplace

In order to better understand the skills required for effective teamwork within the workplace it may be helpful to first identify which aspects are likely to result in a team being inefficient, unproductive and dysfunctional. In Patrick Lencioni's book entitled The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,' he highlights five key themes which he believes are factors within dysfunctional teams.

These five factors associated with ineffective teamwork include the following: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results.

Effective Teamwork Requires Trust

Regardless of whether in the workplace, home or leisure environment, trust is absolutely essential as without it there is likely to be much conflict and simply an inability to build relationships and be able to work effectively as a team. Particularly within the workplace environment trust is key to maintaining good working relationships between colleagues, employees and employers. Trust requires honesty and honesty is crucial to being able to work efficiently without worrying that one is going to be stabbed in the back or manipulated out of a job.

Effective Teamwork Requires Accountability

Without accountability it is completely impossible to work efficiently within the workplace environment or indeed any other environment as a team. Feedback is a key part of accountability as this is necessary to help individuals to understand how they are progressing. Regardless of a person's expertise or position it is important to have another person who will hold him or hr accountable.

Accountability reduces the likelihood of a person getting sidetracked at work and is a valuable means of keeping track of employees. This issue also helps reduce conflict as it creates opportunity for individuals to recognize their role within the wider team and how they may improve on key skills.

A really crucial aspect of effective teamwork is being able to communicate well with one another. Thus requires the following skills: active listening, negotiation skills, non-verbal communication awareness and patience. It is also important to be aware of tone, gestures and facial expressions as these will have an impact on how one is perceived by other members of the team.

As highlighted above, effective teamwork requires communication skills, the ability to negotiate well, accountability trust and commitment. All of these skills will help to make the workplace a more positive environment and hopefully result in less office politics, petty conflicts and lead to increased staff morale.

By,

RK GOPAL NANDURI.

Ban the blame game in an organisation

Finger Pointing Causes Teamwork Disharmony

The blame game is common in office politics and can cause job demotivation. Remove finger pointing from the workplace for a more productive and happier culture.

When workload, clients and bosses become overwhelming, it is easy for employees in a corporation to resort to the “blame game” when something goes wrong. Placing the blame on other people when mistakes occur is detrimental to corporate culture and creates a sense of discord within an organization. Removing the finger pointing will actually enhance productivity, interpersonal relations and job satisfaction overall.

Effects of the Blame Game

In an organization that is used to finger pointing, employees tend to feel a sense of superiority over others, claiming that they cannot make mistakes. By finger pointing at others, one would eventually become removed from the team and known as a person who is used to “passing the buck.”

Finger pointing is also condescending and humiliating for the person who has to bear the brunt of the blame. Even when a team is at fault, severe finger pointing can lead to the singling out of an employee and can be detrimental to his or her job motivation.

Passing the blame also leads to the attitude that “as long as it was not me [who committed the mistake] why should I care?” The blame game therefore affects productivity. When an error occurs, employees are more concerned with framing a perpetuator rather than solving the problem. This will result in a delay of fixing the problem itself.

When the blame game is common in the office and is not removed from the corporate norm, office politics tend to take higher precedence than recognition of work and improvements when it comes to annual appraisals. Those who have been singled out during the year will be more likely remembered for his or her mistakes rather than their positive contribution to the team or department.

Banish the Blame Game

Management must establish a culture that is positive-oriented, keeping employees happy rather than causing distress when mistakes happen. Having said that, the first step managers should take is to start acknowledging their own mistakes as and when they happen. This way, employees will feel that it is acceptable to err, as long as a lesson has been learned from it. Employees will also be encouraged to admit to their mistakes rather than beat around the bush or pass the buck.

If management witnesses finger pointing within their departments, he or she should be quick to query both sides of the story. Less assertive individuals are more susceptible victims of finger pointing, so it is important to let them have a say in the issue at hand.

Positive reinforcement should also be magnified. When an accomplishment has materialised in the office, it is important to acknowledge it and reward the responsible person or team with adequate praise. If an error occurs within a department, team leaders should be equally responsible for the mistake and work with their team to overcome the error.

Productivity should therefore be of priority. Instead of “who made the mistake?,” employees should ask themselves “what should we do now to mitigate the mistake?” It is therefore important to continuously move forward even if problems arise. This way, employees are not side-tracked by office politics distractions and ignore the important part of their jobs, such as clients and reporting lines.

A Healthier Working Environment

Banishing the blame game from office politics will increase productivity and enhance teamwork within the office. Employees will also be more motivated at their jobs knowing that they will be rewarded for their efforts and that though mistakes happen there are ways to work around them.

By.

RK GOPAL NANDURI.