When aspiration is too big for the operation
Why do strategic plans fail?
Strategic planning – it’s an idea as old as time… simply a set of insights from which organisations can develop a framework to guide future decisions. And yet, so often strategic plans fail to have cut through or gather dust on the shelf of never-implemented ideas.
We consider a few of the key reasons why strategic plans fail to take flight.
When aspiration is too big for the operation
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen organisation’s make is a belief that a strategy should be wholly aspirational. Yet aspiration without a dose of operational reality is the most common reason for failure to take flight.
An example of this pitfall can be seen in organisations that develop ambitious plans for growth through new service or product development without addressing existing operational challenges.
A regional services organisation provides a case study of this strategic challenge; it had designed a highly aspirational strategy, articulating their goal of “expanding reach of services to double the existing geography." While this strategy was supported by market research that identified a strong need and was justified with customer feedback, the organisation was incapable of achieving it. The company was technologically in the dark ages, the team was hampered with resource, talent, and capability shortages, and many services were running at a deficit.
The failing of this planning process and the resulting strategic plan is that it was imbalanced in its environmental analysis, putting too much emphasis on the market opportunity at the expense of a thorough assessment of operational strengths and weaknesses. As a result, the current operating state made the strategic leap implausible at best, and impossible at worst.
To avoid this pitfall, strategic planning must strike a balance between establishing aspirational goals and operational realities. This involves conducting an honest assessment of the organisation's current operational capabilities, resources, challenges and culture to ensure that goals are realistic and achievable. Additionally, strategic plans should prioritise actions that address immediate operational issues while laying the groundwork for future growth.
By incorporating operational feasibility into strategic planning, organisations can create plans that are not only ambitious but also grounded in reality. This approach ensures that strategic goals are attainable, sustainable, and ultimately contribute to the long-term success of the organisation.
