Did you know the leading reason that strategies fail is communication? Recent studies have found that 60-70% of strategic plans fail due to poor communication within the organisation, misalignment and a lack of buy-in from key stakeholders.
When there’s a fundamental disconnect between your strategic planning workshops, plans and thinking and what “lands” with your team, partners and stakeholders, it’s a game changer. Or a game-stopper! According to the Harvard Business School, 95% of employees don’t understand their company’s strategy, and a reported third of all employees don’t understand how their role fits in with the organisation’s priorities.
If your stakeholders and team don’t understand your plan or their role in bringing it to life, then there’s NO chance they can execute it effectively.
It’s not enough to have a clear strategy – you have to take people with you!
Developing a clear, compelling and engaging strategy is more than just a business requirement, it’s an opportunity to galvanise your organisation behind a shared vision and objective, to reduce wastage and frustrations, improve morale & organisational effectiveness and to set a roadmap for long term success.
The good news? There are some simple, proven ways to improve communication and build commitment throughout the strategic planning process:
- Engage Key stakeholders: while it is counter-productive to have everyone in the room, by generating support for your planning process up front, considering inputs and insights from right across the organisation as well as your client’s “voice” or perspective will go a long way to building support. Keep your senior team updated on the process and thinking and then plan to launch it right across the business. Simply ensuring that your organisation’s purpose and plans are clearly understood from new starters to senior leaders can increase productivity, improve morale and help you to outperform competitors.
- Clearly communicate your ambitions – and why they matter: As Simon Sinek said “If the leader of the organization can’t clearly articulate WHY the organization exists in terms beyond its products or services, then how does he expect the employees to know WHY to come to work?” Use the planning process to re-inforce your organisation’s ambitions, then clearly communicate the role each individual has in bringing them to life, and the impact that will have collectively and individually.
- Embed your strategy in your business: once you have a clear and accepted strategy then it’s essential to look at your organisation’s structure and resource allocation and ensure it reflects your strategic priorities. Fund your ambitions with the right people, a suitable budget & resources, and ensure that your objectives are measured and reflected in KPIs. Reward and publicly recognise wins and positive behaviour that will help you deliver your plans.
At BlueFish Strategic Planning and Marketing, our team combines expertise in strategy with world-class communication skills to help you develop clear, compelling and actionable plans which drive results. We ensure your plan isn’t just another document—it’s a clearly communicated roadmap that’s embedded in your business and designed to deliver lasting success. Get in touch to find out how we can support you!
