Essentials for Successfully Implementing Your Strategic Plan - Part 1

Essentials for Successfully Implementing Your Strategic Plan - Part 1
Developing a strategic plan is a critical effort both for
corporations and for individuals or families. Developing
the plan, however, will not achieve the goals outlined in
the plan without certain essential actions and activities
by the people who created it. Far too often, strategic
plans are written so they can be put away and ignored. This
approach is almost never successful in achieving goals.

Whether your strategic plan is intended to guide a
corporation, a small business, a family or your personal
life, successful goal achievement is directly proportionate
to the steps taken to ensure systematic implementation of
the plan. There are, thus, several essentials for
successfully implementing your strategic plan. The steps
outlined below are the most critical for success.

The first step in implementing your strategic plan is to
communicate the contents of the plan to the people who are
subjected by it. Although this is also a place for
involvement, effective communication must occur first. The
communication piece is critical because supervisors need to
understand first what the strategic plan contains ' what is
the intent of the strategic plan ' before they can
communicate it to others.

Once the supervisors understand the plan and its intent,
they should communicate their understanding to frontline
employees. Research has shown that frontline employees
prefer to get the information about corporate goals and
strategic planning from their frontline supervisor. This is
the person they know best and the person they choose to
trust.

It is very easy to assume that a personal strategic plan
needs to be known only to the person who wrote it. This is
a mistake. It is important to identify the people who need
to know what is in your plan. Who are the people who can
support you in trying to reach your goals? Who are the
people who are likely to encourage you as you strive to
reach those goals? These are the people with whom you want
to sit down, spend some time, and just share what you put
together as your goals for the year.

In a corporate setting it is even more important that
everyone get on board and know the goals of the
organization. In this context you simply cannot
over-communicate your strategic plan. Doing a session with
smaller teams and groups within the company gives
individuals an opportunity to look at the strategic plan in
detail. They can ask questions, they can pick it apart (not
in order to edit into something different) and ask all they
questions they want to ask about it. It is vital to have
someone in the session who was involved in creating the
strategic plan. This person can explain what was intended
by specific words.

My experience is that we spend a large amount of time
finding just the right words to put in a plan. Too often,
however, we do not spend enough time communicating what we
meant by those words.

The second step in implementing your strategic plan is to
get people involved as you communicate. Get workgroups
and/or individuals involved so they actually do something
with the strategic plan. In many organizations getting
people involved in doing something with the plan means
there is a performance plan. Creating the individual or
team performance plan is a matter of asking, "Given that
these are the goals of the organization, how does my job
fit into these goals? How do I make a difference? How do I
help the company reach toward achieving the goals set out
in the strategic plan?"

Communication of the content and the intention of the plan
should be linked with involvement in implementing the plan
within the organization so that, whether I am the CEO or
the janitor, I understand clearly how my contribution helps
us meet the goals and implement the strategic plan.

The third step in successfully implementing your strategic
plan is to keep it before the people. Many companies
create a beautiful strategic plan. It is glossy and
beautiful. People look at it and say, "Hey, that is nice,"
put it away, and no one ever looks at it again. It is
critical that the leaders in your organization carry the
strategic plan with them in a printed document. They should
bring out a copy of the plan and say, "This is how what we
are doing fits our strategic plan." All reporting on
performance goals should refer back to the plan. "This
action supports our strategic goal of people management."
"This activity supports our strategic goal of production."
The point is that people clearly see and repeatedly see the
link to the strategic plan.

If you are working with your personal strategic plan it is
even more important that you keep it before you because it
is so easy to become distracted and get off track if you do
not have a performance plan or an accountability partner.
In fact, I would encourage everyone working with a personal
strategic plan to find an accountability partner.

The fourth step in successfully implementing your strategic
plan is to conscientiously live the values expressed in
your strategic plan. Strategic plans usually carry other
information, such as company values. Again, the values are
very important because your leaders need to live them. This
means you cannot post the values on the wall while people
behave totally differently and still call it a corporate
value. Something is not a value unless or until you see it
behaviorally embodied within the organization.

If you are working with a personal strategic plan, you need
to monitor how things you are doing and trying to
accomplish fit your value system. If you are trying to do
something which goes against your value system, it will be
extremely hard for you to accomplish the task or goal. It
will be much harder to stay on track, and you will
encounter many more obstacles. It is important to know what
your values are and to work within your value system,
whether you consider your personal values or corporate
values.

----------------------------------------------------
About Gayla Hodges
Gayla Hodges is the President Change Agents, Inc., a
company that specializes in energizing workforces to
achieve strategic goals. She coaches executives and
managers on leading corporate change, facilitating the
development and implementation of organizational
effectiveness strategies. For more information, visit
http://www.changeagentsinc.com or call 623-362-3876.

Cheap Home Business Ideas To Make Money Online With

Cheap Home Business Ideas To Make Money Online With
The internet has evolved into a monster with a wide array
of opportunities for entrepreneurs to cash in on. The great
thing about the internet is there are several cheap home
business ideas that you can begin making money while
spending very little. With the right dedication and the
proper patience, you can be making money online with some
of these cheap ideas.

One of the rising opportunities on the internet is article
writing. Whether you have a gardening web site or a home
business site, content is imperative to having success.
Because of this people all over the internet are looking
for quality content to put on their site. Many have the
ideas but do not know how to creatively put them into words.

That is where article writing becomes a cheap home business
idea. It takes virtually no money to write articles and
sell them to people other than the marketing. But there is
always someone looking for fresh and enticing content they
can use to promote their site.

Affiliate marketing has been around for years and continues
to be a solid way to make money on the internet. Affiliate
marketing involves you selling other people's products and
making money off of it. By visitors clicking on the link
you have for a business and purchasing a product, you make
a certain amount of commission off of the sell. If you play
it right, you can make a commission of 35% or higher.

Freelance work has risen in popularity over the past few
years because of the numerous options there are. Freelance
allows you to choose your job and get into something you
are already experienced with. Whether it is freelance
writing, graphic designing, or copy writing, there is a
wide array of options to choose from.

Another option similar to affiliate marketing is joining an
already developed company and becoming a part of the team.
There are several programs that are worth your time to look
into because of the success thousands of others like you
have had through them.

The last option is by far the best way to make money online
and that is by starting your own web site. By creating a
web site you have the ability to do a little of everything
above. You can join a program and promote it on your site,
you can promote an affiliate program, promote your article
writing, and set up a place for people to order freelance
work. It is by far the best home business idea for you to
have success with.

----------------------------------------------------
Joan Campbell is the webmaster of a work from home online
business.Sign up for her free home business newsletter to
receive 6 free affiliate marketing and home business
related e-books.
http://www.acheiversnow.com
http://acheiversnow.blogspot.com

Use PR to Reach Your Customers and Other Audiences on an Emotional Level

Use PR to Reach Your Customers and Other Audiences on an Emotional Level
Using public relations is more often about making an
emotional appeal to your audience rather than addressing
only logic.

The use of hybrid cars, better health care, more medical
research, more accountability in government, and safe
playgrounds are all issues that have benefited from an
emotional appeal using public relations.

Does your product or service hit them right in the heart
when it counts? During a natural disaster, for example, can
you provide help? Are you a radio station with information,
a facility with shelter and food, or a company that offers
medical assistance or transportation? (Think of snow days
in which people with SUVs race to hospitals, shuttling
doctors and nurses to work.)

Whatever you are promoting, you need to explain to your
audiences on an emotional level how it benefits them or
others they care about. Every good product, every good
service is, at its heart, a means by which to help people
live, work, or play better. As retailers know, what they
sell are benefits, not features.

Travel agents sell adventure, discovery, education, and
relaxation (not trips); movie theaters sell escape,
romance, and excitement; software makers sell efficiency
and convenience; jewelers sell glamour and love; home
builders sell the concept of togetherness, shared lives,
and community; luxury carmakers sell power and status;
restaurants sell taste experiences and camaraderie; and
fashion designers sell style, beauty, and sex. If you sell
office supplies, you are really selling efficiency.
Violins? A lifetime of musical enjoyment. Hybrid cars? Good
environmental practices, cost savings, and trendiness.

Has anyone ever bought a top-of-the-line Harley- Davidson
motorcycle just for sheer transportation, or a $20,000
Rolex just to tell time? People trust brands, and brand
building comes about as the result of marketing and public
relations, supported by advertising and word of mouth.

A good brand provides buyers with predictable quality and
appeals to their emotions. And, in the war for attention,
brands win. You can be the top brand, even if it is only
within your industry or among your target audiences.

Help people understand clearly on an emotional and rational
level the benefits you can provide. Generally, people
respond to an appeal because it addresses one or more of
the following needs:

- Business/mission: Can you help them meet their goals,
make more money, save time, make them look better to their
superiors, get a promotion, or beat their competitors?

- Social life/lifestyle: Can you make their lives more
enjoyable, provide more leisure time, make them more
attractive, help them find romance, make them healthier,
make their friends and coworkers envious, or help them
further their hobbies or other avocations?

- Beliefs: Can you provide a "place," physical or virtual,
where they can feel comfortable expressing their political
opinions, religious beliefs, or other personal feelings?
Can you provide information that will help them make up
their minds on important issues? Does your organization
support a cause in which they strongly believe?

- Reputation: Can you further enhance or protect their
professional or personal reputations?

- Ethnic/religious/national identity: Can you help them
connect with others who share similar ethnic, racial,
religious, geographic, or other traits? Or give them a
place where they can experience diversity and meet people
who are unlike themselves?

- Philanthropic: Can you help them to help others and also
feel good about themselves?

- Fantasy/Escape: Can you help them get away from the
mundane and routine, at least temporarily?

If you can address one or more of these needs on an
emotional level, you have a much better chance of having
people understand what you can provide and respond
favorably to it. They will be more willing to take an
action you would like them to take.

----------------------------------------------------
Robert Deigh is president of RDC Communication/PR and
author of the upcoming PR book "How Come No One Knows About
Us?"(WBusinessBooks, May '08). For a free full chapter, "16
Ways to Come Up With Story Ideas That Will Attract Press,"
contact rdeigh1@aol.com http://www.rdccommunication.com

Are You Making the #1 Mistake on Your Leadership Resume?

Are You Making the #1 Mistake on Your Leadership Resume?
Leadership professionals often spend significant time
adding content to their resumes, showing career progression
and detailing their strengths. So why does the average
resume get only a minimal response?

Most people don't realize that when it comes to touting
their own skills at a six-figure level, presentation is
EVERYTHING. When you choose that canned Microsoft Word
template for your resume, you are laying the foundation for
lackluster results.

Now, opening a new document and choosing a built-in
template might work fine if you're sending a quick email
message, but it certainly isn't a good way to sell your key
competencies if you're an aspiring leader ready to take on
the world and boost your salary in the process.

When it comes to writing the most critical document of your
career, consider the message you are sending with the
actual style of your resume, not just the content.

Now you might ask: what's wrong with using that Word
template? Well, first of all, it's made for EVERYONE to
use. Can all professionals relate to your level of
achievement? I doubt it.

In addition, the font allows for only minimal wording to be
used, with very short lines. Now, I don't know about you,
but as a professional resume writer, I find it extremely
hard to get critical information across in seven-word
sentences.

Third of all, the template doesn't convey status or
prestige—the very components that drive careers at
the upper echelon.

The really amazing thing is that professionals who wouldn't
dream of showing up at a job interview in less than a suit
are giving a resume presentation that equates to wearing
their Saturday jeans. Is this really the impression that
you want to give your next employer?

Case in point: Brad, a seasoned operations manager skilled
in guiding large construction firms through periods of
multimillion-dollar growth, came to me with 30+ years of
experience stuffed into the standard Word template.

Not only could he barely fit his achievements into the
tight spaces allowed, the grid-like format required a font
that didn't represent his stature. After we collaborated to
review his work history, it was obvious to me that he could
control costs, hire top-producing teams, and institute
practices that made his employer very, very profitable in a
short period of time.

You can bet that these facts really jumped off Brad's new
resume, leaving no doubt as to his career level and focus.
Even with tightening up the wording on his accomplishments,
I was still able to give the reader two full pages of
detailed, concise information about him that would've
otherwise been LOST if he'd continued to use the template.

So, the next time you're in the midst of a job search, give
your resume style the same attention and focus that you
would apply to any business presentation with a
professional style that speaks to your status and level of
achievement.

----------------------------------------------------
Six-figure resume authority Laura Smith-Proulx creates
cutting-edge documents that open doors to jobs at
prestigious corporations. Known as "The Career Champion,"
Laura has authored the upcoming "21 Insider Resume Secrets
to the $100K+ Job of Your Choice," plus "Solve Your
Toughest Resume Challenges." For her free e-course, "The 7
Biggest Resume Mistakes That Can Keep You From a $100K+
Job," visit http://www.AnExpertResume.com .

Get R Done

Get R Done
Get R Done!

You most likely have seen this slogan on license plates,
bumper stickers, T-Shirts, or at roping contests and
rodeos. It is a pretty popular saying right now and it
certainly calls for one to take action.

Over the past nine months I've been intimately involved in
coaching the world's largest supplier of a product on their
journey to being a "Lean Manufacturing" organization. They
have several plants around the world and it seems that each
works a bit different then the other.

One would think that such a large supplier of this product
would have systems in place that could be duplicated in
each of their faculties. But, no, they let each run
independent. Oh, they have a central financial and HR
procedure, and their sale force and support services are
more align than the manufacturing operations. But, each
plant functions independent of the other. This
decentralization is now standard operating practices in
many industries and organizations and has helped get things
done.

What becomes interesting and something for you to think
about this month is that while this plant that I am working
with opening buy into this slogan of "Get R Done!" they
struggle each month to make it happen. They fail to hit
their daily target numbers on the production line. They
have production meetings each morning to review what
happened the last 24 hours. They take immediate action
when a support function needs to come into play with
production. Yet, each day they look at their outcomes and
they remain in the 55%-65% range. Once in a while they hit
100% or 105% of target, but more often than not they sit at
the lower numbers.

Now, you might ask the same question I did..."What's
getting in the way?" People are certainly working hard.
The supervisors and line leads are putting in long hours.
They have endless meetings. Upper management comes out to
watch the lines operate. Maintenance has re-aligned their
working hours. Results continue to fall short...and have
for the past six months.

So what is the issue? What truly is getting in the way?
Why can they on occasion hit above their production target
but most days fall disappointedly short?

Before we can jump on the fact that they just are not
"getting r done" we need to look at the SR2P factor. What
in blazes is the SR2P factor? Well, I'm glad you asked
because every business and organization that is serious
about "getting r done" needs to have these elements aligned
in order to ensure their success.

Strategy...that's the S! You would be surprised at the
number of organizations I work with who don't have a
clearly defined strategy on how they intend to accomplish
what they want to achieve. When I get down into an
organization it becomes even more obvious that individual
leaders, managers and supervisors have no specific strategy
developed as to how they are going to tackle the
organization's plan.

Now one would think that coming up with a strategy is not a
big deal. It should take only a few moments of clear
thinking to come up with one and to begin following it.
However, you and I have both gotten caught in just doing
something to get some problem off of our plate. We are
like zombies trained to take action right away so we don't
stop and think about a strategy. Besides, isn't a strategy
something for bigger problems....longer term goals,
positioning of the organization in the market place?

Well, you better have a strategy for that, but the
day-to-day activities we are engaged in require a strategy
too, regardless of how simple the task or outcome might
appear. See a strategy has to incorporate the R2Ps in order
to be successful to move you to the outcomes you desire or
need.

R is for resource(s). What resources are going to be
needed to execute your strategy? I remember when a large
international company wanting to go head-to-head with a
firm in Germany that had the majority share of the market.
The head of Germany's operations forecasted a strategy that
showed a significant level of growth, penetrating the share
held by its competitor. This certainly looked great on
paper. However, when the deeper question was asked by
senior management as how they were going to do this the
answer was to increase the sales force. The next question
was by how many? The answer, by a dozen or so. When asked
how big the competitor's sales force is the answer was 300.
Almost ten times the number they were projecting as having
to penetrate this market. Clearly there was a need to
either reconsider the over all strategy or put significant
resources behind this forecast to ensure its success. So
you know the end of the story the international firm
decided on a new strategy rather than going head-to-head
with their major competitor.

The 2 Ps stands for People and Process. Does your strategy
take into consideration where and how your people are
assigned? What they are capable of doing? What are their
skill levels? What have they demonstrated in the past that
can assure you that they can execute the strategy as
developed? Often the strategy is developed without linkage
to the capacity of the people who are expected to carry it
out. Assumptions are made that the people will and can
step up to the plate to fulfill the expectations.

And while this can happen, we find that when it does not,
the company has to back down from their strategy because
they had to re-train their people. So make certain you
take into consideration where your people are and their
capacity to deliver your strategy as you have it. Often,
when an organization does their strategic planning they
leave out what changes they have to make to their workforce
so that the workforce is capable of delivering the strategy.

The last P - process- is one that is just as critical as
all the rest, but again not looked at to the degree it
should. Under the standards of LEAN MANUFACTURING, your
processes are the key to eliminating waste and to increase
turn-over of inventory, maximizing people's efforts, and to
reduce handling of product so that it moves through its
cycle as fast as possible.

Like you and I, too often our organizations assume that the
way we are doing things today is the best way because it
has worked for us in the past. And, it doesn't need to
have any real changes made to it to fit our new strategy.

But as we are finding out in the company I am working with
now, that while the strategy is clearly defined they have
not taken the time to look closely at the R2Ps part of the
formula for "getting r done!"

Because they are doing that now, I am expecting to see
dramatic results over the next few weeks that show a
significant upward trend towards hitting their production
number. But, here is a kicker that you and I need to be
aware of. And one that I'll address in a future article.
What we need to watch out for is the execution of the SR2P
formula. If we can't "get r done" the best plans stay on
the shelf. We don't learn anything about what we have to
change to remain competitive. We fall into blaming the
economy, sales, customers not buying, etc. Failure to
execute keeps your best from coming out. So as the slogan
says....step up and "Get R Done!

----------------------------------------------------
More information on J. David Magistrelli and his unique and
comprehensive approach to Organizational Change, Lean
Thinking, Development of Your People - including sales
force, managers, supervisors, and Joining Business and
Marketing Strategies Together can be found at
http://www.strategies-unlimitiednc.com ,
http://www.operatingbeliefs.com and at
http://www.increasecustomercontact.com

Coaching and eating disorders

Coaching and eating disorders
When I train managers as coaches I always warn them to
respect the power of coaching questions and to recognize
the possibility that what starts as an innocuous, business
related conversation, may lead to the unveiling of a deeper
issue. Coaching managers would be advised to develop at
least a little insight into the signs of abnormal
psychology. Consider for example, eating disorders.

The term eating disorder can apply to a variety of
conditions but here we'll consider two of the better known:
Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.

Anorexia Nervosa:

This condition is associated with a 'wrong' perception of
body weight or shape. The sufferer will often perceive
themselves as overweight and be fearful of putting on
weight. Usually however, they would be deemed seriously
underweight. Anorexia Nervosa is a very serious condition
which can prove fatal.

Bulimia Nervosa:

Unlike anorexia the bulimia sufferer is normally within a
normal body range but again will tend to have a distorted
perception of body or size. The condition is characterized
by episodes of binge eating followed by 'remedies' such as
self-induced vomiting or taking laxatives.

A number of possible explanations for these disorders have
been advanced:

Sociocultural Factors:

It is perhaps no surprise that these conditions are most
prevalent in developed western societies that have an
abundance of food and yet attach huge value to the notion
of being slim. One study (Davies & Furnham, 1986) found
that a research sample included significantly more people
who wanted to lose weight than actually saw themselves as
overweight. This suggests cultural pressure to achieve a
certain body.

Psychological Factors:

Eating disorders tend to occur in young women. This may
correlate with declining self-esteem amongst this same
group at this time in their lives. There are, of course,
different perspectives within the psychology field:

Behaviourist - suggesting that slimming becomes a habit
Psychoanalytical - suggesting that anorexia may be an
attempt to suppress sexual impulses
Humanistic - suggesting the conditions are connected to
family relationships

Family Factors:

Eating disorders could be connected to family factors such
as a history of obesity or an obsession with eating and
weight.

Biological Factors:

Recent research focusing on the hypothalamus has suggested
a biochemical explanation for these eating disorders.
However it is difficult to differentiate between cause and
effect.

Whatever the cause, signs of either of these eating
disorders must be taken very seriously as the effect on the
sufferer and their family can be devastating. Consider for
example, the famous case of the Carter family who ended up
launching an historic legal battle to compel their anorexic
daughter Vicki to eat.

What then of the coaching manager who uncovers these signs
when coaching around day to day issues such as workload
management or time keeping? Best advice would seem to be to
keep to good coaching principles. Ask questions designed to
raise awareness, generate responsibility and build trust
then listen carefully and attentively to the responses.
This is highly unlikely to make things worse and may
actually do quite a lot of good.

After that, it's a question of referring the coachee to the
relevant professional. For this reason I recommend that all
coaching managers familiarize themselves with their
organization's welfare procedure.

----------------------------------------------------
Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. For a bumper load of
coaching tips and tricks - including FREE resources - visit
http://www.mattsomers.com