Strategic Map

Now that you have created your Strategic Objectives, you need to plan out a timeline for getting things done.

Place your goals on the following map according to their category and completion target. It can be difficult to plan far into the future in very much detail. Lay out a year in as much detail as you can, but don't feel like you need to go into detail further out than one year. Fill in the actual column once the goals have been completed. Your Strategic Map will help to keep you on task over time.

This is a fairly large exercise, and requires a lot of foresight and a deep understanding of your industry and your capabilities. In fact, as we progress through the rest of the books in the Wardell program, you will make adjustments to these plans. Think of this exercise as setting up original targets. The dates, and even the objectives will change as you grow, so don't worry about getting this exactly perfect on your first run-through.

Leadership Objectives

Two-year objectives

Three-year objectives

Five-year objectives

Ten-year objectives

Management Objectives

Two-year objectives

Three-year objectives

Five-year objectives

Ten-year objectives

Marketing Objectives

Two-year objectives

Three-year objectives

Five-year objectives

Ten-year objectives

Finance Objectives

Two-year objectives

Three-year objectives

Five-year objectives

Ten-year objectives

Operations Objectives

Two-year objectives

Three-year objectives

Five-year objectives

Ten-year objectives

Sales Objectives

Two-year objectives

Three-year objectives

Five-year objectives

Ten-year objectives

Implementing Your Corporate Vision

As with your Corporate Mission, you and your management team are going to have to “walk your talk.” You are going to have to show that you value vision oriented, strategic thinking, over the old “fire fighting,” problem solving approach. Thinking strategically means connecting daily activities with your Corporate Vision. You’ll need to resist the temptation to fall back on old habits because people will follow your lead. Sure, things are going to come up requiring immediate attention that might pull you a little off track, but if you ignore your Corporate Vision for long it will lose its credibility and ultimately its value. It happens time and time again to companies of all shapes and sizes. Don’t let it happen to yours.

One way to show that you’re serious about strategic thinking is to tie it in to team or individual performance objectives. Look for ways to connect rewards and performance evaluations to progress made towards your Corporate Vision. This is covered in depth in the Wardell Management book.

To communicate your Vision with your key stakeholders, prepare a slide presentation that will walk them through it. Your team will feel valued when you take the time to communicate the way forward to them. Without this, people naturally tend to make up their own version of the future. Communicate clearly to stop speculation and or rumours that can damage your business.

In this chapter you should have designed, shared, and made a plan to review your:

• Strategic Objectives.
• Strategic Map.