Strategic Planning

Optimizing Your Strategic Planning Process

A 5-Alignments™ Approach

When your strategy and people are properly aligned, no other organization

can deliver the unique value yours was designed to deliver.

Is your strategic plan keeping you focused on that unique value?

Organizations, teams and individuals are all governed by the same principles.
Each must seek:

Future Alignment—a clear line of sight from the short through the long-term
Internal Alignment—where principles, values, thinking, and climate drive peak performance
External Alignment—where proximal and distal circumstances clarify opportunities and threats
Historical Alignment—cultivating wins, harvesting losses, and challenge assumptions

All of these dimensions serve your strategic Focus in the here and now—on your WIN’s.

5 Alignments. 15 Dimensions in Light Grey w Blue Labeling(1) (1)

Net/Net: There are 100 things you could do but only 3 things you should do.

In order to optimize your strategy and the culture that drives it, it is vital to know where and when to place your organization’s time, attention, and resources to deliver on these 3 things. This is what it means to place your attention with intention on What’s Important Now (WIN)—the essence of Attentional Leadership®.

Through the 5-Alignments™ Framework, we help develop Attentional Leadership at every level and corner of your organization.

Future Alignment

Clarify the ideal future state (CoverStory) to envision new possibilities
Invite new considerations for Mission, Vision & Values
Explore future assumptions (STEEPI) and scenarios

External Alignment

Understand your current markets, customers and stakeholders
Identify direct & indirect competitors, alliances and collaborators
Investigate new Opportunities & Threats for optimal positioning

Internal Alignment

Horizontal & vertical alignment between leadership and staff
Horizontal & vertical alignment between Board, committee’s & leadership
Clarify Strengths & Weaknesses individually and collectively

Historical Alignment

Cultivate historic wins to foster organization capacity & confidence
Harvest historic losses to minimize redundant errors
Challenge historic assumptions to maintain learning agility

Focus (Strategic WIN)

Each alignment offers a more complete understanding of your organization’s current state—setting the stage for designing the right strategic, action, metrics, even capacity plans needed to keep everyone focused on WIN’s that support your evolving mission, vision and values—together delivering on the distinct value and promise your organization was designed to fulfill. This is the 5th Alignment™