MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

This module is our communications module. Here the team will lean the art of pre-mission briefing, communicating the plan to their teammates. Outcome: the ability to tell the story of how we’ll achieve success. Desired Learning Objectives: We understand the tenets of communicating for effect. We understand the basic components of the “BRIEF” methodology. We know how to use BRIEF to effectively communicate a plan.

BRIEF stands for:

• B: Briefly provide an overview of the mission, objectives and plan outline, from end state to how we’ll achieve it

• R: Review the “behavioral focus of the day,” as well as any individual highlights that deserve a focus

• I: Inspire the team by highlighting who is going to do what by when

• E: Effectively communicate potential challenges to our success, as well as how we’ll identify and address those challenges

• F: Finish on a high note by verifying comprehension, addressing questions, and explaining why you’re confident in the team’s ability to win!

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Objectives

01. Framework: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Create Urgency: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Communicate The ‘Why’: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Storytelling: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Insights: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Ambassadors: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Communication Obstacles: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Media: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Celebrate Successes: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month

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Strategies

01. Framework: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Create Urgency: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Communicate The ‘Why’: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Storytelling: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Insights: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Ambassadors: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Communication Obstacles: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Media: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Celebrate Successes: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.

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Tasks

01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Framework.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Create Urgency.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Communicate The ‘Why’.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Storytelling.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Insights.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Ambassadors.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Communication Obstacles.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Media.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Celebrate Successes.
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Introduction

Getting Your Business On Board With Strategic Planning Using Communication

Will your strategic plan have any effect if no one knows about it? The prognosis, in our opinion, is not promising. This is due to the fact that a plan is only as effective as its execution.

In other words, if you want to be successful, you must learn not only how to develop a strategic plan for your company, but also how to successfully communicate that plan.

It’s much easier said than done.

Use the following suggestions to improve strategic plan communication and gain employee buy-in from the bottom up.

Why Is It Critical To Convey Your Strategic Vision Effectively?

Companies spend a significant amount of time developing a strategic plan or vision for their company. All of your time and resources, however, will be wasted if you are unable to effectively communicate your vision to the rest of the company.

Not only is the initial investment wasted, but if you can’t strategically align your business, you’re basically leaving every team to guess what work is critical, which problems or goals to prioritize, and what their ultimate purpose is.

Misalignment between departments and across the company is a sure recipe for misalignment in strategy.

This misalignment can lead to confusion and inefficiency, rivalry between teams and divisions, and employee burnout and disengagement.

In other words, the company cannot move forward effectively or efficiently without a well-communicated strategic plan.

How to Deliver a Strategic Plan

Use the following tips and best practices to successfully communicate your strategic plan and get everyone on the same page.

Organize An All-Hands Meeting.

First, make your vision known at an all-hands meeting for the entire company. Ideally, you will communicate your plans several times over the next few months through different meetings and formats. However, it is critical to first communicate your plans to the complete organization so that everyone receives the same messaging.

Informing everyone at the same time will help to prevent misunderstanding or misinformation from spreading through the rumor mill and ensure that no one is left out.

It also allows you to respond questions and receive preliminary feedback from the group. Make time during your meeting to answer questions and solicit input. Addressing those concerns together can relieve managers of the burden of answering difficult questions and ensures that everyone receives the same answers from the same trustworthy source.

Then, as you continue to roll out communication and implementation across departments, you can build on the initial feedback and handle more detailed questions case by case and team by team.

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Explain your “why.”

Don’t forget to describe why things are changing as you explain what is changing. Change is difficult. When you introduce a new strategic plan, you are likely to disrupt your workers’ work processes and approaches.

Assume your new strategy involves technological updates or the implementation of new systems. While you may be able to see how those changes will make your employees’ jobs easier or more efficient in the long run, they will have to bear the brunt of learning a new system, changing well-worn processes that “worked just fine” before, and dealing with the growing pains of a learning curve—which may include lower productivity and even upset customers at first.

Respect your employees by recognizing what you’re truly asking them to do and explaining why it’s critical to move forward with the new plan.

Make two points as you explain the “why” behind these changes:

1. Create a sense of urgency

Why make a shift now? What’s the hurry? You must create urgency for why these changes are happening now as you describe the purpose behind the new plans. What motivates the need for change?

This will help people comprehend why you’re making the changes and will instill in them the same sense of urgency in carrying out your plans effectively.

2. Explain what’s in it for “me.”

High-level strategy can appear disconnected from the day-to-day work or processes that teams and individuals perform. When communicating your future goals and vision, make sure to connect the purpose and benefits directly to your employees.

How will the new plan improve their working environment? What are the advantages for their group or department? For instance, if the new strategic vision will result in happier customers, describe how this will convert into easier customer service calls or higher sales quotas.

When people believe that change will benefit them (rather than just a vague bottom line), they will be more invested in making those plans a success.

Create A Framework For Teams To Follow In Order To Align Their Work With The Company’s Plan.

Create a company-wide structure for implementing the new strategy and keeping everyone’s work aligned to take the guesswork out of alignment. Creating objectives and projects based on the strategic plan is a simple but effective approach.

OKRs assist you in organizing your goals around a strategy and tracking key results at the conclusion of the measurement period. This process not only helps teams and individuals align their objectives and goals, but it also clarifies ownership and accountability.

When everyone is working from the same framework, it is simpler to execute company strategy broadly and consistently, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

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In Future Interactions, Reinforce The Strategic Plan.

Maintain the momentum behind your new strategy plans by following up and following through. Too often, leaders make the error of launching a new strategy without ensuring consistent communication throughout the rest of the year and beyond.

Remember that communicating your strategy plan should not be a one-time event.

It requires time to build adoption and align your company with a new vision or goal. Make your strategy a part of your company meetings, newsletter, employee reviews, and one-on-one talks to reinforce your message.

Celebrate Your Accomplishments Along The Road.

Implementing a new strategy plan is not as easy as crossing items off a to-do list. There will be questions to answer, issues to resolve, and individuals to persuade. This requires time and will not always be easy. That is why it is critical to recognize and reward individual, team, and organizational accomplishments along the road.

In team and business meetings, highlight these individual and collective victories. Recognizing successes as your business transitions to a new strategy will increase engagement and adoption, leading to greater ownership and responsibility across the board.

Visuals Can Help You Clarify Your Point.

Strategic plans typically include a plethora of terms, forecasts, and components. However, if you don’t communicate clearly, these details can rapidly become lost in translation. By visualizing crucial information, you can keep your audience engaged and on board.

Visuals are a simple but effective way to supplement your presentation and clarify your messaging so that everyone knows your future vision. To clarify new processes, responsibilities, and accountability, use visuals such as flowcharts, graphs, product roadmaps, and organizational models.

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Use visuals to improve alignment within and across teams as teams begin to execute the new strategy.

Simple collaboration features allow team members to provide feedback or clarify concerns about group projects.

Visual collaboration and communication from the top down and within teams will assist your business in understanding and implementing your new vision more quickly and effectively.

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Many organizations overlook one thing when implementing a Balanced Scorecard or any type of strategic plan: no matter how effective your strategy is, it won’t work if your employees don’t know how to align with it, or worse, if they don’t know about it. As a result, your internal communication strategy can genuinely make or break your efforts.

Given the importance of communication in strategic success, you may find it useful to create a communication plan to ensure information is effectively disseminated at all levels. In this section, we’ll explain the objectives and key components of a strong strategic communication plan, as well as how you can surmount some of the most common obstacles you’ll face as you work to get everyone on the same page.

What Precisely Is A Strategy Communication Plan?

A strategic communication plan is a written plan that outlines how your organization’s goals will be communicated to your team. This plan is deliberate, with messages and tactics used to help connect employees with your strategy and drive your organization’s performance success.

Objectives in Common

Consider your rationale for making a plan before you begin. What is your marketing strategy’s overarching goal? Is it intended to:

• Raise knowledge of the Balanced Scorecard or strategic plan throughout the organization?
• Educate all audiences on important Balanced Scorecard concepts?
• Increase the project’s important stakeholders’ engagement and commitment?
• Encourage process participation?
• Raise awareness of the Balanced Scorecard and strategy plan?
• Ensure that team outcomes are quickly and effectively disseminated?

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Case Study: Nova Scotia Power’s Communication Objective

“To present the concepts of the Balanced Scorecard to the key constituents involved in both sponsoring and providing input to the implementation, and to provide all involved with regular updates regarding the team’s progress during the implementation.”

This goal specifies who should receive communication and what the content should say, both of which will serve as guidelines for all future strategy-related communications.

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Important Elements of Your Communication Plan

Determine the essential elements of your communication plan: who, why, what, when, and where.

Who refers to both the communicator and the intended audience. You should define the right groups to be involved in the process based on the scope of your implementation. Your intended audience is made up of these groups. Following the identification of the target audience, each group should be assigned a communicator tasked with successfully disseminating the message.

The why and what in this equation represent the goal or message. The goal of the communication strategy is to communicate the original goal of implementing the plan. This could take the shape of a common goal, such as “generate key stakeholders’ engagement and commitment to the project.” What are we doing and why are we doing it? We are putting the communication strategy into action in order to generate engagement and commitment from important stakeholders.

When should you deliver the message? The frequency o