When Your Strategic Plan Falls Apart

3 min read
October 5, 2024

A few weeks ago, I sat down with one of our clients to hear how the year unfolded for him, his team, and his company. He is a long-time client and friend, and earlier in the year, he had asked us to help his new executive team align around their goals, frame out a general three-year plan, and, importantly, coalesce as a team. 

This last piece is critical because, though often overlooked, there's a direct connection between revenue growth and personal development. As people hone their strengths, they bring more to a growing team. And, as an organization grows, it demands more from its leaders. I enjoyed helping his team articulate what they wanted to achieve together, but I loved helping his team members articulate what they wanted to bring forth in themselves

I listened with interest and some concern as my friend ticked off the aspects of the plan that had gone sideways in the last six months. Price pressure from their biggest challenger. A tight supply chain. And alarmingly, a new product entrant had turned a distributor into a competitor. 

"How is the team holding up?" I asked.

He winced. "They are back on their heels a bit. And tired. Honestly, Jeff, I'm not sure they are up for it."

He paused for a couple of seconds. "What should I tell them?"

It's not the first time we've been asked this question by harried leaders disappointed that the year hasn't worked out as their spreadsheets hoped. As we approach the end of the year and enter another planning cycle for the upcoming one, most of our clients are taking stock of their plans – and in a world that seems more unpredictable than ever, many of those plans couldn't anticipate everything that was ahead. Some, like my friend, are looking at a plan that seems in shambles. Others are ending the year surprised by unexpected growth. No one we work with has lived out a year that went exactly how they intended. 

But "strategic planning" isn't the same as "predicting the future." 

The point of planning isn't to set future events in stone. Alas, the future inevitably works out in ways we don't expect – sometimes frustrating, often surprising, occasionally delightful. Our competitors, customers, and consumers do their own planning, too, and seldom have the courtesy to let us know what they're up to in advance! That's a good thing, because growth often comes from the happy accidents, opportunities, and challenges we don't expect. 

So why plan? We plan because the process itself is illuminating. It exposes where we agree and where we don't. It allows us to discuss and align. It allows us to consider outcomes and our possible responses. And if we do it right, it hopefully builds the trust and resilience we need when things turn out differently than expected. 

That's why personal development is as important as strategic planning. The planning helps us align as a group. The personal development into conscious leaders who are aware, aligned, and intentional helps us respond, adapt, and adjust to the inevitable changes.

If the first nine months of the year have provided you with both reassurance and challenges, onramps and obstacles, that's not a sign that your team is deficient or your planning is inferior. It's a sign that you live in the same dynamic world we all live in. You can respond by calling on the innate dynamism within you, too. 

It may seem like the changes are forced on you by what's around you – the market, your competitors, your suppliers. That's the stimulus, sure. But the true changes emerge from within you. 

So, as you think through how to tackle the latest disruptions to your business and the opportunities those disruptions provide, I'd gently remind you that you already have everything you need to be successful. The wisdom is in the room. The answers are around you – and in you.

And I'd remind you that your leadership intentions can be fully embodied in every decision and action you take. Be what you want to see.

P.SYou can apply all the above to your personal goals and dreams, too. ;-)  

Get Email Notifications

No Comments Yet

Let us know what you think