Tips for successful planning.
For a successful planning session, try a few of these tips:
- Prepare thoroughly.
- Create the right environment by:
- Displaying the vision, goals, and relevant indicators while planning actions
- Removing distractions
- Employing processes that engage physically
- Breaking into smaller planning sessions or groups if applicable
- Bring the right people:
- Decision makers
- Connectors
- Influencers
Understand the reluctance to commit.
Not all partners will be as enthusiastic and ready for action as you might be, so it is important to prepare strategies for working together with everyone. First, think about why they might be reluctant. It might be because they don’t have the authority to make decisions, they may not be fully committed to the vision and goals, or they may feel pressure from a scarcity of resources such as time, staff, or money.
To overcome reluctance, be willing to have an offline listening session. Allow them to explain their reluctance, and make an effort to understand the concerns that hold them back from fully committing to the alliance. Identify where the control lies: if this is outside their area of authority, make a plan to get support from the person or office with authority. Schedule a briefing to make a case for the alliance. If you are in the middle of a session and not able to move the session along because partners are reluctant to commit, reframe the planning as mapping a “best case” scenario.
- First, ask, “With no constraints on time or resources, which actions would you take? When is the best time and who is the best person to take responsibility for those actions?”
- Second, ask, “How would you prioritize the actions in terms of which would have the biggest impact on achieving the goal and realizing the mission?”
- Third, ask, “Can you identify barriers to achieving the goal?”
- Finally, say, “Let’s brainstorm ways to overcome these barriers. Do we need to recruit more partners? Do we need to ask for support at higher levels of the organization?”
