Everyone experiences pressure this time of year: completing year-end projects; projecting next year’s budget; finalizing the 2011 business plan. But before you place the finishing touches on next year’s strategy, ask yourself if you have communicated sufficiently about your anticipated work flow with your colleagues.
Rushing to complete the department’s business plan can mean it was developed using the “silo” approach. The result is that the plan may appear to make sense on paper but encounters multiple issues when it is time to execute the strategy and tactics. Why? Because an adequate exchange of information did not occur during the developmental stage.
I advocate taking time to confer with colleagues before finalizing your 2011 business plan. There are several benefits to communicating cross-functionally while designing your department’s upcoming activities. For example, by sharing your proposed plan with others, you may become aware of timing issues or barriers that could impact the success of your work. Learning what others anticipate doing can reveal opportunities your team can leverage and provide new ideas that inspire creativity, both of which could be integrated into your strategy before finalizing it.
Soliciting input during the formulation stage enables you to gain allies and to identify relationship issues that require improvement or problems that need to be solved. To gain such insight prior to introducing your strategy to the executive team or initiating a tactic is invaluable because you are able to refine your approach and make the necessary “course corrections” before experiencing major hurdles that would cause your plan to fall short or, worse yet, fail to produce the promised results.
Instead, you are able to implement your strategy and tactics smoothly and appear to be organized and in control of your functional area. Plus, if there is the likelihood that you will be asked to scale back your 2011 proposed budget, it can be extremely helpful to have “champions” who are aware of the benefits of your plan and would attest to the importance of your work.
Measurement component
Because measurement is critical to business, it is necessary you have a well-designed scorecard, which will help you report on the activities you intend to perform throughout the year. By conferring in advance with your colleagues, you may uncover critical areas where your course of action will impact these other areas.
Consequently, you may be able to develop methodology that incorporates supplemental information into your quarterly, monthly and weekly reports. Your ability to show how your work is inter-related to the goals and objectives of other departments demonstrates the further value of your efforts.
Positioning you as a leader
In addition to having a stronger business plan, this type of advance communication with your co-workers positions you as a collaborator and an effective manager willing to listen to multiple points of view and possessing the ability to understand how your area fits into the overall picture of the business. Such attributes help to brand you as a leader.
Once your 2011 plan is completed, including feedback from colleagues, don’t hesitate to showcase your efforts to other business partners when networking opportunities arise. This will permit you to “advertise” your plan, so others in the company become aware of the upcoming work of your department. This, in turn, will prepare them when you or members of your team call upon them to enlist help or to request information throughout the year.
Sharing your intentions and business targets also can open doors for you with members of the management team, as you are able to compliment the ideas suggested by their staff and prove your willingness to be a team player.
In fact, you may want to distribute highlights or an executive summary of your plan to key executive team members and share the relevancy or your goals and work to helping the company successfully achieve its 2011 business objectives.
Continue the communication flow
Once your department’s business plan has been approved, don’t stop communicating. Your business plan is a tool as well as a road map. You should share your plan with employees new to your area, so they have a clear understanding of the focus and anticipated performance of the department.
Be sure to introduce existing and new vendors to appropriate portions of the plan, so they can accompany you on your “journey to achievement” as you pursue your strategy and undertake key tactics in which they, too, have a vested interest in your success.
Finally, as you achieve your goals throughout the year, be sure to celebrate these accomplishments with your team, explain how these successes support the corporate mission and business goals as well as the department objectives. This educational endeavor can help employees better understand the role they play within the organization and the importance of their individual contribution to creating a winning team and a successful company.
Ruth Ellen Kinzey, The Kinzey Company is a corporate reputation strategist, consultant, and professional speaker. Want to hear more about a specific topic? She can be reached at (704) 763-0754 or http://www.kinzeycompany.com.
