Filed in Practices

Even though most of us would agree that it’s a good thing to bring more creativity into our strategic planning efforts, much of the time very little attention or effort goes into actually making it happen. This month’s practice is about taking stock of your organization’s efforts at bringing creativity into strategic planning. You can do this exercise for your part of the organization, or for the organization as a whole, whichever you choose.

Take some time this month to look at how strategic decisions are made in your organization, and how much real creativity is infused in the process. You may want to use the Creativity Toolbox article to survey what kinds of tools and practices your organization uses on a regular basis.

What creativity practices are you or your organization good at? Which do you use regularly? Which do you think your organization would benefit from using more frequently or with more skill?

Consider taking some steps to bring more creativity into your strategic planning. Decide which tools or practices you want to bring in, and identify resources to help you do that. It could make a big difference in how your organization determines its direction, and ultimately in its long term success. You could even consider making some New Year’s resolutions around this topic!

Even though most of us understand that a powerful vision is critical to achieving what we want, we don’t usually put much attention on the quality or power of our vision.

This month’s practice is all about taking stock of the level of quality of your vision. You can do this practice on any level you choose — individual, group, or organization. You can do it with a big, long-term vision, or any of your smaller, shorter-term visions. Just make sure you explicit identify which vision you are working with in this exercise.

Take some time this month to think about your visioning with a curious and open mind. Use the 7C framework to ask yourself questions and rate your visioning in each of the 7 areas. Plot your ratings on a radar diagram.

What areas of your visioning are strong? Which are weak? What can you do to improve the ratings of the weaker areas? Would other people in your organization give the same ratings you did, or would you expect to see big differences with others? What can you learn from all of this?

You might consider taking some action to improve your visioning. If necessary, find support either inside or outside your organization to make changes. It could be one of the more impactful things you can do right now to make a difference in your organization’s success!

It’s common knowledge that for a team or organization to be effective it must be aligned around its Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Values. But how many of us actually take the time to inquire into how aligned we really are?

Our first Practice of the Month is all about looking at the state of alignment in your team or organization with a curious and open mind. As you talk to people you work with this month, engage them in conversation on these topics:

• How would you define Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Values?
• How confident do you feel that you understand and can articulate the Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Values of your team or organization?
• What do you think the Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Values of your team or organization are?

Take notes as you discuss these question with people. When you get to the end of the month, look through your notes and see what themes you can identify. Are there basic differences in how people define these terms? How much variation is there in what people describe as the plans of the team or organization? How confident do people feel in their understanding?

You might consider sending out an email or memo summarizing your findings. It could be a valuable contribution to your organization to reflect the level of alignment that honestly exists today.

I’d love to hear your stories of what you learn!