Most managers drive strategies by looking in the rear view mirror. Critical management decisions are usually made based on aggregated estimates of interpretations of what has happened recently.
Reporting and feedback is not directly connected to what is actually being done for a strategy. Plus most people put a positive spin on a situation, especially if their performance is being judged.
To drive forward, a strategy plan is a good start. But little influence and control can be exerted without integrated, detailed action plans that tell people what they need to do, when and with whom. Action plans need to directly keep all contributors focused and doing what they need to do to implement the strategy. Action plans provide the critical link between the strategy plan and what contributors actually need to do.
By aligning and integrating strategy and action plans, managers can gain direct links to what is actually happening. Plus feedback and reports can be received in close to real time without aggregation and spin disguising the true situation.
Early warning of inadequate progress is essential to keep on track to achieve the strategy goal. Without early warning, you are forced to make reactive decisions (based on outdated “rear view mirror” information) that are generally too late to make a positive difference. It can also fuel the perception that management is out of touch with what is actually happening.
In theory, aligning and integrating strategy and action plans sounds simple. But in practice, it is extremely complicated even before implementation starts. Then it gets more and more complicated when real world changes need to be handled.
TASKey has developed and validated a simple distributed management method to align and integrate strategy and action plans. Managers at all levels can develop their own action plans to achieve their part of the strategy.
Web and mobile software make implementing the distributed management method across an organization easy. Most importantly, the easy to use software creates and updates To Do lists for all contributors, so they know what they need to do, when and with whom.
When contributors complete To Do’s, progress is automatically updated throughout the strategy and action plans, and relevant people are notified. Consequently, all managers can assess progress at any time and take remedial action early if required.
Another significant benefit is that all contributors are accountable and know that there is a likely consequence of not completing a To Do on time. So they ensure that To Do’s are not forgotten.
Strategies can affect people inside and outside an organization; so the software can be used to send action plans and assign actions to anyone with an email address. This allows managers to keep control of the implementation of the strategy and all the action plans.
Now there is no longer a need to implement a strategy using the rear view mirror. TASKey’s innovative methods and software make it easy to keep control of the strategy and get the information you need to make proactive decisions. Visit
http://www.taskey.com/ for more information.
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