Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies
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Accountability is key to successful implementation of any strategic plan — hands down. If you and your team don’t have to report to anyone on your progress, the plan may find itself farther and farther down your to-do list or at the bottom of your stacks of papers. You don’t need an elaborate accountability system, but you do need something everyone understands.

One of the most important pieces to successful implementation is you. In addition to your strategic plan manager, find someone to hold you accountable — a business coach, an executive group, a colleague, an outside consultant, or anyone else outside of your business who advises you.

Don’t forget to discuss the consequences for non-performance with your team. Just like rewards, consequences are critical in any action plan. Often, the consequences are removal from the team that’s working on the goals. Peer pressure creates such an intense expectation of performance that it causes action, so hold monthly strategy meetings where people have to publicly report on their progress.

If you had to give a report in front of your peers, you’d have your act together, right? Just the thought of humiliating yourself in front of the team for non-performance may make you sick to your stomach, so you’re going to make sure that you’ve done your job and are prepared for the presentation.

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Erica Olsen is cofounder and COO of M3 Planning, Inc., a firm dedicated to developing and executing strategy. M3 provides consulting and facilitation services, as well as hosts products and tools such as MyStrategicPlan for leaders with big ideas who want to empower and focus their teams to achieve them.

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