Yesterday, I reviewed business planning materials for a partnership to establish industry sustainability standards. I found all the usual business plan pieces you’d expect, like mission, vision, org chart, objectives, and budget. There was a cool diagram that I’ll imitate in the future of nested circles to capture strategy, culture, approach, tactics, and goals. So far so good.
However, the reason they were seeking my help was due to self-assessed dysfunction among the leadership and members and being overwhelmed with work. No where in any of the business plan materials was an objective and pathway to improve team function, resolve conflicts, or better define the areas of cooperation. No where could be found aims around the key aspect of collaboration or earning buy-in from senior executives.
All the strategic and tactical elements were aimed at external actions, competition, addressing externalities, and a best case scenario. Everyone knows that the world is messier than that. Everyone knows that collaboratives among corporations around social issues (ESG) are beset by competitive paranoia, fears of industry or consumer backlash, and positioning among different players in the supply chain.
Here’s the point. Savvy readers of your business plan know the complexity of the marketplace and the difficulty of creating a high-performing organization. If you’ve signaled or given away that you are facing internal challenges, you must present a credible roadmap to their solution. Brilliant strategy and tactics don’t create organizational success – leaders and teams create success by effective responses to both internal and external dynamics.
Everything isn’t about you, but sometimes it is about you. Own it and make continual improvement one of your super-powers.