Strategic Planning Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Why Is Accountability Critical To Implementing A Strategic Plan?

It may be that the most important factor in successful implementation of a strategic plan is the degree to which everyone in the organization -- top to bottom -- is held accountable for a) acting and deciding consistent with the plan, and b) creating the results that are intended.

It's really simple. If people are not held accountable, they come to believe that the "things" they are asked to do aren't important enough. When you hold people accountable, they understand that the goals (and other parts of a plan) are "serious".

Here's a quote from Jonathan Weinstein in Turning Strategy Into Action:

The organization must be held accountable to the intended results of the plan. To that end, the following questions must be asked and answered regularly, and include appropriate accountability based on the answers:

• Are people's actions consistent with the documented mission?
• Has there been measurable progress toward the established goals?
• Are the priority projects being executed as documented in the plan? Have we stopped or appropriately adjusted the non-"Must Do" projects?
• Are the priorities we established in the plan still valid?
• Can EVERYONE in the organization talk about key elements of the plan? For example, can individuals express the mission, describe a strategic goal, or identify a core project?