05/ 11/ 2006
by Charles R. McConnell
What does it mean to talk about planning in the work organization? Is it thinking about tomorrow, next week, next year or five years from now? It can be thinking about any or all of these; in fact, planning can be described as tentatively deciding what might be done at some future time that could be any time from tomorrow morning to 10 or more years from now.
Appropriate business planning can be described as encompassing a half-dozen essential elements: vision, mission, goals, objectives, strategy and action plans.
Vision
Vision and mission are necessary elements of planning. It can be a simple statement that serves as a rallying point for all employees. A vision is an image that doesn't need great detail; it can be as broad and as simple as:
We see ourselves as a business staffed by dedicated, enthusiastic, customer-oriented people who act as partners or associates. We readily adapt to change, seek continuous improvement, and strive to excel at customer service.
Mission
A vision then translates into a mission statement that proclaims the purpose of the organization—that literally states why this company exists. Like visions, mission statements should serve to define the business and inspire its employees. An effective mission statement must be expressed clearly in a brief paragraph of simple language and cause people to understand why the organization exists and what its work is all about. For example:
We seek to deliver service that surpasses the expectations of our customers. We will continually improve the quality of our output, shorten turnaround time, control costs, and promote a spirit of cooperation among staff, customers, and suppliers. We will become the premier (kind of business) in this community, best known for quality, value and courtesy.
Sure, vision and mission are broad and noble-sounding. But they provide inspiration and general direction, and once in place and known to all they don't often need to be revisited. Planning concerns then advance to goals, objectives, strategy and action plans. Once desire and direction are known, goals are enunciated, objectives are formulated, strategy is developed, and action plans are constructed.
Goals
The wisest leaders involve their associates in setting goals and objectives. Goal statements encompass ends or conclusions. For example, it may be a goal of the general manager to open a new branch, a goal of the sales manager to increase sales revenues, or a goal of a senior technician to become a supervisor. Goals and objectives are both targets, but goals and objectives differ from each other in that the targets become more specific when goals are subdivided into objectives.
Objectives
Objectives relate to milestones achieved on the way toward reaching a goal. For example, for the general manager who wishes to open a new branch the initial objective might be the successful conclusion of a feasibility study, a subsequent objective might be the securing of a suitable location.
In the day-to-day functioning of any business, objectives are the primary concern of most managers and workers. Objectives should be realistic, understandable, measurable, behavioral, achievable, and as specific as possible. An objective such as "to reduce inventory costs" is not sufficiently specific. Far more appropriate is "to reduce inventory costs by 10 percent within 12 months." A proper objective is defined by three essential parts: what, how much and when. In the foregoing example: "To reduce inventory costs (what) by 10 percent (how much) within 12 months (when)." The best objectives are assigned priorities and given target dates. They should always be committed to in writing; written objectives get more attention and provide a permanent record.
Strategy
Strategy is most simply described as a pattern of moves structured in a particular manner to take advantage of certain circumstances or avoid certain potential obstacles. It may involve, for example, building on your company's strengths and working around its likely weaknesses. Strategy is played out in the decisions as to which goals and objectives to formulate and which to emphasize, and the order in which the moves are made to maximize the chances of success. Strategic plans, of which we hear much, are plans for achieving long-range goals and living up to the expectations expressed in the vision and mission statements.
Action Plans
The final element identified above, actions plans, may be disarmingly simple or impossibly complex, depending on the situation. An action plan describes the nuts-and-bolts process of how, step by detailed step, a particular objective is pursued.
Planning's elements work together in a manner that says what we are and what we aspire to be, where we wish to go, how we intend to get there, and what we intend to accomplish.
