A few months ago, the leader of the organization showed me a two-inch notebook. “Here’s the strategic plan we put together two years ago,” he said as he opened the book to show off their work. I read a few pages and congratulated them on the two-year old plan. The strategy was thoughtful and—although now dated a bit by the prolonged recession—wordsmithed to a fine tone. “So, how much have you accomplished?” I asked. My friend stammered a bit, “Accomplished? Well, we’re doing things piece by piece.” Smiling a bit, I asked, “What pieces have you completed?” He said,”Well, we really haven’t completed any of the pieces yet.” He emphasized how everyone was excited about the plan when they began, but they don’t really talk about it much anymore. They spent a lot of time, money and effort to build a strategy, but never implemented it. They lost the energy of working together to formulate a strategy to leave it in a binder on a shelf. A strategic vision without a strong e ...
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