Staying the Course with your Strategic Plan

You’ve grown your mission and mapped a plan. Yet, implementing your strategic plan is the hardest part.

I’m often reminded of the mile runner at a track meet. No matter how hard the runner has trained and conditioned, once their toe is on the starting line, there’s no way to tell how the race will actually go, is there? Even though a seasoned runner has all the tools to perform at their best, there are so many variables and “unpredictables” mid-run.

My point is that you can have a plan, but it’s really important to work some flexibility in to the plan. Switch it up when it doesn’t go your way. Find room to make a new move or correction. Just as there is no one way to win a race, there must be some ‘stretch’ in the best set plans for correction. Every athlete trains for consistency but all of that conditioning equips him or her with a constant list of checks and balances in order to auto-correct during the race for the best possible outcome. For the athlete, each correction is a gain.

These keywords are your 'checks and balances'
every step of the way when implementing a plan:

Focus

Are you growing yourself and growing your department?

Adjustment

Create a calendar to follow up on schedules;
be realistic with scheduling.

Collaboration

Constantly develop relationships and
stay consistent with your contacts.

Endurance

What do you do differently when you hit a ‘NO’?
What is the end?