Getting away from the chaos of an organization, in order to take a deeper look at its day-to-day operations, can be the most important step in strategic planning.
The first fundamental element of planning is to step away from the business, take time to think about it, and innovate.
Purposefully taking time away from the organization may not seem to be an effective strategy, but it could be the key to understanding what the organization is doing well and what it needs to improve upon.
Gathering partners together and hearing the different voices and opinions, then taking the time to assemble a plan, is essential to adopting new strategies. There is nothing more important while innovating than seeing what has already been done and how other people view an issue.
These new plans are birthed from numerous voices, not just one. The contribution of multiple voices is how you can move forward and build a strong culture. Solicit the information from the ecosystem and apply it. Then you can “pressure test” it and make sure everyone stays committed.
People in the planning process can forget one of the most essential and easiest steps to take which is to have fun with it. Usually people go into their specific line of work because they get enjoyment out of it and have found a way to have fun doing it.
That should be embraced in these planning phases. It can be easy to forget why a person got into a specific line of business, but stepping away from the day-to-day can make people remember this aspect. It can give a person a chance to reflect on everything and enjoy the journey.