Curriculum - Articulate the strategy

An event, lasting two or so days, that unearths creative insights to inform strategic plans and to inspire other initiatives.

A tool that determines whether your strategies are likely to be effective—and to identify possible improvements to your strategy

A series of workshops and techniques that reconcile conflicting priorities and translate ordinary strategic plans into inspiring actions

Strategic festivals

An event, lasting two or so days, that unearths creative insights to inform strategic plans and to inspire other initiatives.

Outline of the problem

Every few years, tertiary institutions attempt to develop or enhance their strategic plan
To develop these plans, most institutions collate the suggestions, values, and perspectives of staff. During this period, staff often feel uncertain about how the plan will affect their lives—and the corresponding anxiety may impair the capacity of individuals to think creatively and to identify their true values.
After the plan is developed, many of the suggestions, values, and perspectives of staff are then discarded rather than utilized to improve the organization and to develop future initiatives.

Outline of a solution

The institution could organize a two-day festival with various stalls. In each stall is an activity that has been shown to promote wellbeing, to enhance creativity, and to generate insights that could be used to inform the strategic plan and future initiatives.
For example, in one activity, individuals record some problems they are experiencing at work and in their life—and then sort these problems into clusters. This activity has been shown to diminish the emotional impact of these problems but also generates insights that could guide strategic priorities

Examples of these stalls

In one stall, participants record skills they would like to teach in 5 to 10 years—that is, skills that are likely to be cherished to a greater extent in the future
Second, like Shark Tank, participants present business propositions they would like to pursue in the future
Third, participants discuss job opportunities they believe will evolve in 5 to 10 years—perhaps with the assistance of recruitment agencies.
Fourth, participants engage in a competition on who can identify the best solutions to enhance the region. The local government may specify the problems they need to solve and evaluate the solutions.
Fifth, participants specify work tasks they believe could be streamlined or eradicated in the future—to improve efficiency.
Sixth, participants engage in a speed networking activity, in which they meet another person, and need to combine their roles or skills to generate an innovation
Seventh, participants record all the networks and opportunities that both they and colleagues could utilize in the future to improve their lives, and so on.
These stalls will generate information about problems, opportunities, and innovations that could coalesce to inform a strategic plan and to inspire other initiatives.

The strategic evaluator

A tool that determines whether your strategies are likely to be effective—and to identify possible improvements to your strategy

Overview of the problem

Tertiary institutions often develop strategic plans—usually plans that stipulate the vision, values, and goals of the organization or department.
Although designed to inspire staff and to enhance productivity, the majority of these strategies do not achieve these objectives.

Overview of the solution

This program helps managers evaluate or revise existing strategic plans—as well as develop effective strategic plans
In particular, this program comprises a series of methods that assess whether the strategic plans comprise the features that have been shown empirically to inspire staff and to improve productivity.

Examples of these methods

The program will apply an algorithm to evaluate the degree to which the strategic plan is distinct from rival plans
The program includes a method that assesses whether the strategic plan is consistent with recent trends and achievements
This program also evaluates the degree to which the strategic plan reconciles conflicting needs
The program also assesses whether the strategic plan is credible and memorable to staff and other stakeholders.

Paradoxical planning

A series of workshops and techniques that reconcile conflicting priorities and translate ordinary strategic plans into inspiring actions

Outline of the problem

According to some estimates, over 70% of strategic plans fail.
The strategic plans of tertiary institutions seldom inspire staff to modify their behavior or to work more productively
One reason is that strategic plans are replete with contradictions. For example, one strategic plan might inspire staff to challenge existing practices but also to respect their colleagues. Yet, when staff challenge entrenched practices, they might inadvertently offend colleagues, manifesting as disrespect.
Similarly, another strategic plan might inspire staff to prioritize innovations. Yet, because of budget cuts, staff might feel their managers actually prioritize efficiency over innovation.

Outline of a solution

To overcome this problem, interested staff should be invited to attend workshops that resolve these contradictions.
In these workshops, facilitators invite staff to consider the problems that might unfold if they follow the strategic plan—to unearth contradictions.
Next, facilitators encourage staff to apply techniques that have been shown to resolve these contradictions or paradoxes.
When these techniques are applied, individuals may uncover exciting innovations that resolve paradoxes and thus enable staff to fulfill the strategic plan.

Examples of techniques that resolve paradoxes

To illustrate, suppose the workplace prioritizes both innovation and efficiency
Staff could be invited to suggest changes or practices that are likely to enhance either innovation or efficiency.
Next, staff could be invited to identify which of the changes or practices that enhance innovation also benefit efficiency—called shared activities
Finally, might develop an initiative that combines these shared activities or enhances the effects of these shared activities.
Many other techniques can also be applied to resolve paradoxes.
For instance, staff could merely clarify the circumstances in which innovation should be prioritized over efficiency and vice versa.

Contributors

To seek advice or engage specialists on these initiatives, contact the contributors of this page

Simon Moss