Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

How important is the time planning exercise you recommend prior to scheduling Action Plans?

Critically important! Management time is usually a company's most precious resource. It is more common for a business to reach an impasse in its progress due to a lack of available management time rather than to a lack of cash. It is curious, then, that much effort is spend budgeting for cash expenditures and almost none to time expenditures. Our time planning exercise forces managers to budget their time for strategic initiatives based on a realistic assessment of their time availability and avoid the over-optimism or pessimism that leads to unrealistic expectations and failed implementation.

Can we use some type of project management software to tack the progress of our Strategic Objectives rather than your Action Plan format?
An alternate approach could be used as long as it meets the criteria of a good tool for successful monitoring and implementation. To be such a tool it must clearly delineate and prioritize the steps necessary to successfully complete the objective and must show the specific individuals and resources (time and money) required for each step, along with the proposed start and completion dates. Be aware that the use of some project management programs may take so much time that the programs themselves become a burden.

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