It’s the magic that makes all the difference
I have been a strategic planning facilitator for the past 10 years.
It’s a wonderful role for anyone who likes people and has a high level of curiosity.
But there is one ingredient that this role needs more than others.
It’s creativity.
By this I mean not only a great deal of personal creativity but an ability to be able to unlock and harness the creativity of the group or team you are working with.
Here’s why:
Strategic planning is vital to any size organisation.
And the great plans are a combination of reason, emotion and imagination.
Reason:
– The strategic plan should have a focus and a certain logic to it.
– It must be sensible, have a structure with with key metrics in place.
Emotion:
– But it also should engage and excite the rest of the organisation
– The plan should also be simple not simplistic but be able to be communicated easily and simply.
Imagination:
– The strategic plan should also contain a number of big, wonderful idea.
– And contain new ways of targeting a market and engaging customers in a profitable, sustainable way.
Now in my experience as a corporate leader and as a contributor in numerous strategic planning sessions it’s the third aspect that facilitators struggle with.
Sure they can help the group and team to be logical and follow a structure.
And the better ones can engage the group and sometimes a wider audience.
But the facilitators who can make the real difference are those that can unleash the creativity of the leadership group or team.
To help them imagine new possibilities to grow their brand, business and people.
With no modesty this is something that I can help you with.
For the past 10 years I have researched, written and invented new concepts and products.
So I know how to encourage and empower great ideas in each individual and the group.
For example.
Here is one tool that can help any group to become more creative and innovative.
It’s called the Power of 3.
The basic idea is to encourage the group to think in a more divergent way by asking for some usual, different and radical ideas.
This tool creates a safe culture for leaders and managers to offer up those real left-field ideas that may lead to a breakthrough.
There are many strategic planning facilitators but only a few that can help a leadership group to create a plan that is both planned and emergent; logical and creative; grounded yet visionary.