5 Year Strategy Review?
If you are reviewing your strategy after five years do you really even have a strategy? I heard an interview the other day and someone said they were going to review the five-year strategic document they had inherited when taking over as the new Chairman.
It left me wondering if it was reviewed yearly or if indeed it was being reviewed after five years. When I hear someone saying they are reviewing their five-year strategic document my mind jumps to the latter.
But how good is a strategy if it is reviewed every five years? How good of a strategy do you have if it is reviewed every year? Six Months? Quarter? The implication is that there is a document that is reviewed. A good strategy should have a document but more importantly it should have an execution plan that is built on the principles of continuous improvement. Paul Akers wrote an excellent book called 2 Second Lean, which is based on continuous improvement and the idea that all employees should be encouraged to come up with daily improvements that save 2 seconds. This is what he calls, living lean.
Good strategy is the consistent monitoring of internal and external factors and adjusting actions while in alignment with the company purpose. Good strategy is not about a document, it is about the Process, it is about living the strategy. It is every employee, every day.
One should plan long term but reviewing strategy is not a five-year event.
www.fritzshoemaker.com