Real Estate Accounting
A strategic planning workshop can generate plenty of great ideas, but the real challenge comes after the workshop ends.
How do you turn those ideas into action? How do you keep everyone focused on the right priorities? And how do you make sure progress is actually being made?
One of the tools I use to document the strategies and actions that come out of a planning session is what I call a Step Plan.
The reason I like using a Step Plan is that it helps the team understand what we’re working on now, what comes next and how each action impacts the rest of the plan.
Watch the video below for a walkthrough or keep reading for the key takeaways.
what is a step plan?
A Step Plan is essentially a table.
Once you’ve completed a strategic planning workshop, you’ll usually have some key themes that you’ve agreed are important for the business. Each of those themes gets its own row within the Step Plan.
From there, you map out the timelines you’re going to work towards. I like to break this down quarterly for the first 12 months before moving into some longer-term goals.
The purpose of the Step Plan is to take the outcomes of a workshop and turn them into something practical that the team can work from.
start with your themes
The first step is identifying the key themes that came out of your strategic planning exercise.
Once you’ve got those themes, break them down into actions and agree on what needs to happen each quarter.
This helps create clarity around:
- What we’re trying to achieve
- What needs to happen first
- Who is responsible for each action
- What success looks like at each stage
It gives the team a clear understanding of what we’re working on now and what comes next.
working quarterly
I like using quarterly timelines because they create a natural rhythm for implementation.
A year can feel like a long time when you’re looking at a strategic plan but breaking it down into quarters makes it much easier to see what needs to be done and when.
It also gives the team regular opportunities to review progress and make adjustments if required.
the sequence matters
One of the things I find most useful about a Step Plan is that it emphasises the steps that need to be completed before other steps can begin.
Quite often, businesses try to work on everything at once. The reality is that many strategic initiatives are dependent on one another.
For example, if one of your strategic themes is growth and marketing, you may need to win additional work before moving on to another theme, such as team recruitment.
The Step Plan helps make those connections visible, so everyone understands what needs to happen first and why.
a useful tool for leaders
I find this really useful for leaders because it helps summarise the findings of a workshop.
As a leader, you can stand in front of the team and say:
“This is where we’re going. These are the important strategies and actions we’ve agreed to.”
It also helps people understand how their actions affect the rest of the team. When one action is delayed, it can have a flow-on effect on other parts of the plan.
checking in on progress
Creating the plan is only the beginning.
I encourage teams to revisit their Step Plan at the end of each quarter and assess their progress.
Did we do what we said we were going to do?
What worked well?
What needs to change?
I often colour-code the plan during these reviews. Green means we’ve achieved it. Red means we haven’t.
If one area falls behind, you may need to flex the rest of the plan because certain themes or actions are dependent on others.
download the template
If you’d like to create your own Step Plan, download our free template below and use it as a starting point for your next strategic planning session.
we’re here to help
If you’re running a strategic workshop or want to get more value from the process, we’d love to help.
Reach out to me at j.knight@businessdepot.com.au or give us a buzz on 1300BDEPOT.
