Written By: Amy Townson

I have a very goal-driven mindset. I continuously make resolutions and multi-year plans in my personal life. For example, my husband and I have a thirty-year plan for our retirement preparedness. It has been twenty years, and we are still on track. In our case, we know where we want to be and have an actionable plan for getting there. Our retirement preparedness would be the vision and the plan would be our strategy in the business world.

Having a vision and strategy is crucial for organizations. But how do you convert that strategy into actionable steps? Once you have the steps, how do you monitor progress, especially for multi-year plans?

Be SMART

Visionary goals, such as Henry Ford’s “democratize the automobile” or Ikea’s “better everyday life,” are inspiring. But to achieve these visions, they need to be defined, and an overall direction (strategy) identified. Once organizations have the plan, this needs to be further defined into SMART goals.

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-limited. Using the SMART formula, you immediately translate visionary goals into goals you can turn into an action plan. Recognize, too, that there are many paths toward achieving a visionary goal. By using SMART goals, you can break those paths down and pursue multiple options in parallel.

For example, a common visionary goal is to increase customer service. There are many ways you can do this, from offering web-based ways to conduct business to expediting requests to minimizing errors or delays. A SMART goal might be to develop a mobile-friendly site that lets customers submit a basic request form electronically within six months of kicking off your plan.

Plan, Do, Check, and Act

We all know this quality mantra and its use as you implement changes or improvements. But isn’t your strategic vision an improvement for your overall organization? You can incorporate the same quality cycle as you move through your goals.

Especially when you talk about multi-year plans, you should see measurable progress toward your vision with each goal. If you don’t see improvement, examine the goal more closely. Was the goal foundational to put pieces in place that will help you achieve later goals? Was the goal the right one?

At one point, I worked with a client whose long-term vision included increasing customer satisfaction. One goal was to reduce a backlog of work by given percentages each quarter. For the first two quarters, the team was unable to achieve the goal. An analysis of the issue showed that staff was forced to reroute from working on the backlog to address legislative requests. Together, we added a goal to deal with legislative requests and adjusted their backlog goals to something that was achievable.

Monitor Risks and Adjust Accordingly

We all know about the importance of risk management for projects. Isn’t your strategic plan one big project? Threats and opportunities will occur, and you need to be poised to respond accordingly.

The current COVID pandemic provides examples of businesses that responded well to risks and, sadly, those that did not. Many organizations rerouted their processes to produce and deliver critical goods and services – such as take-out meals or brewery-based hand sanitizer – during the pandemic.

Monitoring for these risks and adjusting your approach based on the risks will help to ensure continued success toward your vision. Your short-term goals may change as a result, but you will be better able to avoid threats and take advantage of opportunities.

Remain Flexible

A vision is long-term, and most strategic plans are for five to ten years. You need to allow for some flexibility in how you will achieve that vision. None of us can predict the future, and life will always throw barriers in our path.

Remain flexible and adjust your goals as needed. Whether that adjustment is in response to environmental factors or a shift in priorities doesn’t matter. What matters is that you remain focused on your long-term strategic vision and continue working on goals that will propel you toward that vision.

In the early 2000s, Lego was facing serious problems. The iconic toymaker saw sales reducing at an alarming rate, and its strategy of diversification was not working. The organization remained flexible and adjusted goals to better achieve its vision.

Get Help

Everyone needs help from time to time. Making progress toward a multi-year plan is something that may not come naturally to you. Our consultants have the specialized expertise and the objectivity needed to help you assess your strategic plan, establish goals, and take the necessary action steps to meet those goals.

We know where we’re going, we know how we want to get there, and each year we take steps toward our goals. Let us help you achieve your goals, too!

Amy Townson – Senior Advisor

Amy is a certified project manager with over 20 years of experience and expertise in the health and human services industry, transportation, state government sector, contract management, and project management techniques. She has successfully managed over fifty unique projects and multiple portfolios of projects. In addition, Amy has provided training for state and federal clients on a variety of topics. She has strong facilitation skills with the ability to tailor messages to fit the audience’s experience level and role. Amy is a skilled leader of in-person, virtual, and combination teams.