Want to learn about strategic planning quickly and efficiently?

Don't want to read all the site

resources about strategic planning and strategic Human Resources just yet? These are the articles
I'd like you to read in this order and why. This is the quick path to learning about strategic
planning. You can explore the additional resources at your own pace.

 Build a Strategic Framework: Vision Statements tells you why strategic planning is
important and helps you understand vision statements.
 Build a Strategic Framework: Mission Statements provides the basic approach and
information about developing a mission statement.
 Build a Strategic Framework: Identify Core Values tells you why organizational values
are important and provides examples of values.
 How to Make Values Live in Your Organization gives you a process for identifying your
organization’s core values.
 Build a Strategic Framework: Identify Strategies, Goals and Action Plans defines the
terms: strategies, goals, and action plans and guides you in creating them.

 How to Implement Strategic Planning: Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values tells
you how to implement these steps in your organization so strategic planning becomes
integral to your organization’s operation.

Interested in expanding your information about strategic and business planning and strategic
Human Resources even further, to apply this information more broadly? See my Strategic and
Business Planning Resources.

Designing and Implementing a Learning

Strategy Plan
Friday, June 08, 2012 - by Bruno Neal
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Determine a good approach for achieving learning objectives by developing a plan for a
clearly defined learning strategy.
For a while now, instructional designers and learning professionals have been well aware of the
importance of writing learning objectives that reflect the learners' needs and represent
organizational goals. Several methods are used to capture specific learning objectives that can be
measured after implementing a learning or performance improvement solution. However, are
you sure that you are following an appropriate learning strategy? A well-defined learning
strategy will determine the approach for achieving the learning objectives.

What is it?
I have created a model for a learning strategy plan, which combines Six Sigma, Malcolm
Baldrige, and Andragogy (adult learning) principles. The model consists of a five-phase process
that encompasses learning, and includes instructional design models, media, methods,
technologies, and learning styles. Your learning strategy plan should align all those components
to ensure that they help to achieve the organization's goals.

Guidelines
The five phases of the learning strategy plan are approach, deployment, learning, integration, and
results.

Approach. Make sure you understand the organization and audience well. Identify the method to
be used to implement the learning strategy. The selected learning and educational methods,
principles, theories, and models should be repeatable and based on reliable data and information.
This consistency will make your process reliable and systematic.

In this phase you will need to:

 choose what ISD model you want

to use
 analyze the audience needs and organizational goals
 verify source availability
 interview subject matter experts
 determine whether you need to design a learning solution to address skills and
knowledge, or a performance improvement solution to address attitude and behavior
  identify whether you should incorporate some parallel initiatives such as organizational
change management, informal learning, coaching, or mentoring
 identify learning objectives and business objectives
 consolidate your learning strategy plan into one document.

Deployment. Start implementing the learning strategy plan established during the approach
phase. The plan will need to refer to the extent to which your approach is applied in addressing
the education and learning strategies selected for the project, and how to apply this approach
consistently. Deployment is evaluated on the basis of the breadth and depth of implementation of
the approach to relevant work units, teams, and departments throughout your organization.

In this phase you will need to:

 develop training material

 define strategic moments for the use of social media and informal learning initiatives
 coordinate the logistics of synchronous webinar or instructor-led training
 implement evaluation tools to measure the learning strategy
 survey your clientele and identify lesson-learned key points.

Learning. Your learning strategy plan should focus on two distinct kinds of learning:
organizational and personal. Organizational learning is achieved through research and
development, evaluation and improvement cycles, workforce and stakeholder ideas and input,
best-practice sharing, and benchmarking.

To be effective, learning needs to be embedded in the way your organization operates. This
means that learning is a regular part of daily work; is practiced at personal, work unit, and
organizational levels; results in solving problems at their source ("root cause"); is focused on
building and sharing knowledge throughout your organization; and is driven by opportunities to
effect significant, meaningful change and to innovate.

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In this phase, collect the client survey results sent at the end of the deployment phase. The
lesson-learned key points will help you to identify gaps in your learning strategy process. To
achieve the highest levels of organizational performance, determine solutions to the lessons
learned throughout the learning initiative.

In this phase you will need to:

 refine your approach through cycles of evaluation and improvement by analyzing the
lesson-learned results
 encourage breakthrough change to your approach through innovation and lesson-learned
results
 share refinements and innovations with other relevant teams and processes in your
department and organization.
Integration. Focus on harmonizing plans, processes, information, resource decisions, actions,
results, and analyses to support key organization-wide goals. Effective alignment requires a
common understanding of purposes and goals. It also requires the use of complementary
measures and information for planning, tracking, analysis, and improvement.

In this phase you will need to:

 make sure your approach (phase one) aligns with the organizational needs identified
during the project analysis phase
 verify that your measures, information, and improvement systems are complementary
across processes and departments
 validate that educational and learning strategy plans, processes, results, analyses,
learning, and actions are harmonized across processes and teams to support organization-
wide goals.

Results
Identify indication of either improvement or achievement of expected outcome. Once the
learning strategy plan is deployed, and lesson-learned key points are identified and addressed
during the integration phase, it is time to measure and evaluate the indicators of performance
improvements or the sustainability of good performance.

Compare the results with reliable industry benchmarks or industry leaders, such as the ASTD
State of the Industry Report, and to results of initiatives implemented by competitors and
organizations similar to yours.

It is important that your results:

 show the main characteristics of your market or industry

 show improvement of processes
 demonstrate the accomplishment of an action plan to address a performance requirement
identified during the approach phase
 forecast valid indicators of future performance
 show alignment between organizational goals, learning objectives, and stakeholders'
expected outcomes.

A workplace learning and performance professional should be responsible for valuing the people
in his workforce by committing to their engagement, satisfaction, development, and well-being.
Increasingly, this involves more flexible, high-performance solutions customized to varying
workplace and learners' needs.
Build a Strategic Framework Through
Strategic Planning
Strategy and Vision Statements

Both people and organizations need to establish a strategic framework for significant success.
This framework consists of:

 a vision for your future,

 a mission that defines what you are doing,
 values that shape your actions,
 strategies that zero in on your key success approaches, and
 goals and action plans to guide your daily, weekly and monthly actions.

Your organization's success and your personal success depend on how well you define and live
by each of these important concepts.

In fact:

 Companies whose employees understand the mission and goals enjoy a 29% greater
return than other firms (Watson Wyatt Work Study).
 U.S. workers want their work to make a difference, but 75% do not think their company's
mission statement has become the way they do business (Workplace 2000 Employee
Insight Survey).

Read more to find out how to develop a successful strategic framework for your organization and
yourself.

What Is a Vision and a Vision Statement?

A vision is a statement about what your organization wants to become. It should resonate with all
members of the organization and help them feel proud, excited, motivated, and part of something
much bigger than themselves.

A vision should stretch the organization’s capabilities and image of itself. The vision gives shape
and direction to the organization’s future. The normal vision ranges in length from a couple of
words to several pages.

The vision is translated into actions via the development of a vision statement that expresses the
overall vision.
Create a shorter vision statement because employees will remember their shorter organizational
vision statement better than they will remember a long vision statement.

When employees internalize the vision statement, they take action to make the vision statement
come true.

Vision Statement Samples

"Year after year, Westin and its people will be regarded as the best and most sought after hotel
and resort management group in North America." (Westin Hotels)

"To be recognized and respected as one of the premier associations of HR Professionals." (HR
Association of Greater Detroit)

Personal Vision Statement

Your personal vision for your life can be as simple as a couple of words or as lengthy as 200 or
more items you want to attain or accomplish.

Looking for help and samples to assist you to craft a mission statement that resonates and
inspires? Both people and organizations need to establish a mission statement within a strategic
framework to experience significant success.

Identifying and sharing your mission statement, vision, values, strategies, goals and plans will
engage your employees and fuel your future accomplishments. Here's what a mission statement
entails and sample mission statements to help you develop your mission statement.

What Is a Mission Statement?

Mission or Purpose is a precise description of what an organization does. The mission should
describe the business the organization is in. The mission is a definition of why the organization
exists currently.

If the mission has been assimilated and integrated into your company culture, each member of
your organization should be able to verbally express this mission.

Each employee's actions should demonstrate the mission statement in action.

Your company or organization mission or purpose is most frequently expressed and shared as a
mission statement.

Personal Mission Statement

Additionally, each person needs a mission for his or her life. The alignment of your life mission
with your organization’s mission is one of the key factors in whether you are happy with your
work and workplace.
If your personal and organizational mission statements are congruent, you are most likely happy
with your work choice. Take the time to develop your mission statement for your own life;
compare your personal mission statement with the mission statement of your organization. Do
the mission statements meld?

Mission Statement Samples

These are examples of mission statements that have been developed and shared with the public.

 "Our goal is simply stated. We want to be the best service organization in the world." (IBM
Mission Statement)
 "FedEx Corporation will produce superior financial returns for its shareowners by providing high
value-added logistics, transportation and related business services through focused operating
companies. Customer requirements will be met in the highest quality manner appropriate to
each market segment served. FedEx will strive to develop mutually rewarding relationships with
its employees, partners and suppliers. Safety will be the first consideration in all operations.
Corporate activities will be conducted to the highest ethical and professional standards."
(Federal Express Mission and Goals)

 "To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people." (Wal-Mart Mission
Statement)
 "Our vision is to be earth's most customer centric company; to build a place where people can
come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online." (Amazon.com Mission
Statement)
 "Our mission is to earn the loyalty of Saturn owners and grow our family by developing and
marketing U.S.-manufactured vehicles that are world leaders in quality, cost, and customer
enthusiasm through the integration of people, technology, and business systems." (Saturn
Mission Statement)
 "In order to realize our Vision, our Mission must be to exceed the expectations of our
customers, whom we define as guests, partners, and fellow employees.(mission) We will
accomplish this by committing to our shared values and by achieving the highest levels of
customer satisfaction, with extraordinary emphasis on the creation of value. (strategy) In this
way we will ensure that our profit, quality and growth goals are met." (Westin Hotels and
Resorts Mission Statement)

I'll add mission statements as I encounter solid examples. Your nominations of mission
statements that appeal to you are welcome: Email Me.

Your values are the core of what your organization is and what your organization cherishes.
Values are beliefs that manifest in how an employee interacts in a workplace.

Values represent an employee's most significant commitments to what he or she finds most
important in life. (Values are also known as core values and as governing values; they all refer to
the same sentiment.)

Value statements are developed from your values and define how people want to behave with
each other in the organization.
Your value statements provide a measuring device against which you evaluate all of your actions
and behaviors. Your value statements give words and meaning to the values that you decide to
live by daily.

Value statements are declarations about how the organization will value customers, suppliers,
and the internal community.

Value statements describe actions that are the living enactment of the fundamental values held by
most individuals within the organization.

The values of each of the individuals in your workplace, along with their experiences,
upbringing, and so on, meld together to form your corporate culture. The values of your senior
leaders are especially important in the development of your culture.

These leaders have a lot of power in your organization to set the course and establish the quality
of the environment for people. Your leaders have selected employees who they believe have
congruent values and fit your workplace culture.

The Impact of Your Personal Values

If you think about your own life, your values form the cornerstones for all that you do, think,
believe, and accomplish.

Your personal values define where you spend your time, if you are truly living your values.

Each of you makes choices in life according to your most important four – ten values. Why not
take the time to identify what is most important to you and to your organization? Identify and
live your values. Manifest your values through value statements.

Why Identify and Establish Values?

Effective organizations identify and develop a clear, concise and shared meaning of
values/beliefs, priorities, and direction so that every employee understands and can contribute.
Once defined, values impact every aspect of your organization.

You must support and nurture the impact of these values and value statements or identifying
values will have been a wasted exercise. Employees will feel fooled and misled unless they see
the impact of the values and value statements within your organization.

Create Impact Through Values and Value Statements

If you want the values you identify and the value statements you craft to have an impact within
your organization, the following must occur.

 Employees must demonstrate and model these values in action in their personal work
behaviors, decision making, contribution, and interpersonal interaction.
  Organizational values help each person establish priorities in their daily work life. Priorities and
actions must be grounded in the organization's values and model the value statements
identified for each employee's job.
 Values guide every decision that is made once the organization has cooperatively created the
values and the value statements.
 Rewards and recognition within the organization are structured to recognize those people
whose work embodies the values and the value statements that the organization identified and
embraced.
 Organizational goals are grounded in the identified values. Employees have identified how their
goals and actions are congruent with and demonstrate the values daily.
 Adoption of the values and the behaviors that result is recognized in regular performance
feedback.
 People hire and promote individuals whose outlook and actions are congruent with the
organization's values.

Only the active participation of all members of the organization, plus the development of the
systems and processes of the organization grounded in the company's values, will ensure a truly
organization-wide, value-based, shared culture.

Sample Values

The following are examples of values: ambition, competency, individuality, equality, integrity,
service, responsibility, accuracy, respect, dedication, diversity, improvement, enjoyment/fun,
loyalty, credibility, honesty, innovativeness, teamwork, excellence, accountability,
empowerment, quality, efficiency, dignity, collaboration, stewardship, empathy,
accomplishment, courage, wisdom, independence, security, challenge, influence, learning,
compassion, friendliness, discipline/order, generosity, persistence, optimism, dependability,
flexibility.

Although important aspects of your life and deserving of your attention, these are not values:
family, church, professionalism. If you define what you value about each of these, then you are
identifying the core value.

For example, the core value in family might be close relationships; in church, spirituality; and in
professionalism, demonstrating integrity in everything you do.

Use this additional list of values as a thought-starter for your values identification process.

Read more about creating your personal vision at:

 Create a Personal Vision Statement

More of this article?

 Strategy and Vision Statements (You are here.)

 Mission Statements
 Values and Value Statements
 Value Statement Samples
 Strategies, Goals and Action Plans

Related to Vision and Vision Statement

 How to Make Strategic Planning Work

 Create Your Personal Vision Statement
 Readers Share Their Life Vision
 Identify and Live Your Personal Values
 How to Make Values Live in Your Organization

See how to create a mission statement.