As Patrick Below and I complete the development of our book that will help organizations get results we have concluded that we need to go the extra mile to help busy organizations and CEOs get the extra information needed to maximize results. The book will have a User's Manual to more fully address the "how to" information that block many implementation efforts from being successful.
Here is a statement from the book that lays out our thoughts on the need for this approach:
With years of consulting experience working with firms of varying size and mission, one thing seems to be common when it comes to planning and execution. The CEO and the Leadership Team rely on someone else either in the organization or from outside to do the heavy lifting to build the strategic and operating plans and run the plan execution functions.
We suggest that this person be selected by the CEO and have their time be devoted to the planning and preparation necessary to have effective strategic, operational, and financial planning and execution. They should have planning and statistical skills to effectively manage this effort and have relatively free access to the CEO or the appointed member of the Leadership Team to lead planning and execution for the organization. Many organizations have analysts grouped in a budget or planning office that might serve as the pool for selection. If someone is working in this position for several years, they will become a valuable employee very likely suited for elevation to higher level management positions given the exposure they have had to organizational management.
This person or team will facilitate the planning meetings and needs more “how-to” questions answered than “why” questions. For that reason, we have developed this approach as we wrote this book. It is our hope that we can receive feedback on this section of the book after it has been in circulation – if we do, we will publish it on our website so that all can benefit from the best practices that develop from our writing.
We are serious about getting feedback. We want to hear reactions to this approach from all who are searching for answers to better implementation. Provide us with your insights on implementation and help us hone our approach. Maximizing results is the goal, and we believe that if many of you contribute your feedback it will help more organizations achieve their goals.