Effective leaders can use the elements of a business plan to create the necessary energy to make things happen. They know energy fields and business plans cannot operate independently. A business plan that has an inconsistent story will be flat, lackluster, and bor- ing. There will be no passion or sense of purpose. Employees will not work with pride or display esprit de corps. There will be no sense of urgency to complete the plan. Lethargy toward the written plan will be evidenced.
On the other hand, well-crafted business plans generate all the human power you need for accomplishing ambitious goals.
Turning people on turns on the business plan. Throughout this book I describe how to use each of the business plan elements as a tool for creating empowered people. Each element has a unique value to your business plan and the underlying company story.
Margaret J. Wheatley describes our present understanding of ener- gy fields. “We have moved deeper into a field view of reality by our
present focus on culture, vision, and values as the means for man- aging organizations. We know that this works, even when we don’t know how to do it well.”2
Here are nine critical elements (see also Figure 1-3) I believe are core to any organization’s ability to create energy fields:
■ Vision Statement (creates passion)
■ Mission Statement (creates purpose)
■ Strategic Goals and Objectives (set direction)
■ Strategies and Tactics (generate action)
■ Philosophy Statement (creates ethical boundaries)
■ Focus (creates efficiency)
■ Value Statements (create a scale of importance)
■ Principles (benchmark behavior)
■ Strategic Intent (signals commitment)
Figure 1-3. The nine elements to create energy are all pieces of a puzzle that, when fitted together, create workforce momentum for the plan.
The vision statement is used to create passion. Sadly, I’ve been in a number of companies where there was no demonstrated vision.
It is tragic to meet good people who want to be successful but are without direction. One thing I have noted repeatedly is that com- panies with visionary leaders seem to be the ones with people who are passionate about their work, their job, and their company.
The mission statement is the second stake in the ground, being the opposite end of the vision statement. The mission gives your story purpose. Without a purpose life has no meaning. Without a carefully constructed mission statement your company cannot effectively conduct its daily business. When your mission statement is unclear, employees fail to connect to why they work at what they do. The employee-mission disconnect is a major reason for incon- sistency in a company story.
Strategic goals and objectives give direction to your story.
People must have direction because it has an underlying sense of security. Direction gives structure to ambiguity. Without goals a company’s story has no end point or place to go. Having a goal gives employees a way to measure the value of the story and to check accomplishment of the story along the way.
Strategies and tactics are part of the direction-setting that will help accomplish your vision, which needs two parts to be complete.
First is the “what” as defined by the goals and objectives. Second is the “how” as defined by the strategies and tactics. They are the long-term and short-term methods to define how you plan to move toward the future.
Your story must have an operational core, which is set by the philosophy statement. This is a statement about how you intend to run your business. It is an integral part of the story because it benchmarks your position in codes of conduct and ethical situa- tions. The philosophy statement also signals to people that what you believe is central to your success. “We will be okay if we follow this philosophy of doing business” is a thought that frequently vis- its the minds of managers. Having a well-defined philosophy gives an anchor point in turbulent times because it provides psychologi- cal stability.
You must have a single business focus to create congruence for your story. You cannot be all things to all people. Salespeople try to please the customer. Manufacturing wants to make products effec- tively. Research and development (R&D) tries to crank out new products. The company is split into a number of individual special interests. This causes your story to be fragmented, which is danger- ous to your concentration of effort. A multiple focus pulls the com- pany in multiple directions. Employees get confused when attempt- ing to carry out their daily activities.
Your value statements create a scale of importance within your story. Value statements signal to employees what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Values are critical to the completeness of your story.
Organizations must operate within a set of principled behav- iors. A solid set of principles can be used to benchmark your story.
Ask yourself a simple question: “If we do this, are we violating any sensible business principles?”
The final element is the strategic intent statement, which com- municates your commitment to making the plan work. It is the bridge between the mission and the vision.
Your company is made up of a mass of energy fields created by the nine core elements just identified. In subsequent chapters I will define and describe how to develop each item, how to analyze each in operational terms, and finally how to add each to your basic business plan and story. Look for additional ways to create energy fields within your organization. When you find a source of energy, use it for as long as possible. There is nothing wrong with captur- ing the hidden energy of your company and bringing it into full use.