Strategy Planning Models – “Organic” (or Self-Organizing) Planning

The key to our consulting services is our ability to integrate our know-how in functional areas with our deep industry knowledge in Strategy Planning Models – “Organic” (or Self-Organizing) Planning. Click on the strategy models below to learn more.

 

 

Traditional strategic planning processes are sometimes considered “mechanistic” or “linear,” i.e., they’re rather general-to-specific or cause-and-effect in nature. For example, the processes often begin by conducting a broad assessment of the external and internal environments of the organization, conducting a strategic analysis (“SWOT” analysis), narrowing down to identifying and prioritizing issues, and then developing specific strategies to address the specific issues.

Another view of planning is similar to the development of an organism, i.e., an “organic,” self-organizing process. Self-organizing requires continual reference to common values, dialoguing around these values, and continued shared reflection around the systems current processes. General steps include:

  1. Clarify and articulate the organization’s cultural values. Use dialogue and story-boarding techniques.
  2. Articulate the group’s vision for the organization. Use dialogue and storyboarding techniques.
  3. On an ongoing basis, e.g., once every quarter, dialogue about what processes are needed to arrive at the vision and what the group is going to do now about those processes.
  4. Continually remind yourself and others that this type of naturalistic planning is never really “over with,” and that, rather, the group needs to learn to conduct its own values clarification, dialogue/reflection, and process updates.
  5. Be very, very patient.
  6. Focus on learning and less on method.
  7. Ask the group to reflect on how the organization will portray its strategic plans to  stakeholders, etc., who often expect the “mechanistic, linear” plan formats.
  8. Select the most likely external changes to effect the organization, e.g., over the next three to five years, and identify the most reasonable strategies the organization can undertake to respond to the change.

 

Balanced Score Card

Strategy is all About Implementation. The Arcus approach is all about Implementation. A Balanced Scorecard can only have value if it is linked to the organizations Strategic Direction. Read more.

 

Benefits:

Revenue

  • Boost current revenue streams.
  • Mine current services for new revenue opportunities.
  • Develop new services with revenue-building potential.
  • Cultivate new sources of revenue.

Operational Efficiencies

  • Reverse losses.
  • Enhance the ratio of revenue to cost.
  • Reallocate resources.
  • Invest in key programs and people.
  • Streamline operations

Productivity

  • Create volume-building programs.
  • Drive up customer satisfaction.
  • Secure funding for winning programs.

 

Find out your company’s performance against a benchmark of 500 of North America’s most successful companies. Contact us for an evaluation of your corporate strategy and an ROI audit.