Catherine Day and Associates’ Blog

Why invite an independent resource to your very important strategic planning day or your next really important implementation planning day?

As experienced CEO’s MD’s and GM’s my associates and I agree that when developing  strategic plans for your business, it’s important for you to  be a part of the planning team. It’s very difficult to lead a session and be an effective participant at the same time. Using an independent and experienced facilitator allows full participation and contribution from the team. You also have the benefit of  the experience the facilitator brings.

Another benefit  is an absence of personal agenda. The facilitator and (now very popular) co-facilitator can keep the group on track by managing the process and providing constructive feedback and suggestions if  the team becomes bogged down.  In terms of  time, energy and quality outcome this is a valuable investment in achieving  clarity of delivery of the shared commitment.

The team may also request some creativity exercises to take them out of their familiar way of doing things to give them an opportunity to learn a new skill or a new way of approaching ideas, in our experience maintaining higher energy levels during a demanding and challenging process.

One of our most popular processes is leading planning days with two facilitators.  The facilitators have a better opportunity to observe the process and provide quality feedback to the group on their energy and participation.

Another interesting learning for us is that this is quite economical. Some of our clients have spent 3, 4 and 5 days away with teams developing very important plans. We have found that by increasing the professional support by co-facilitation, the time required to create the plan is often halved  or more.

Experienced facilitators take a comprehensive brief and  prepare rigorous processes to cover the collection and review of information, the exploration of green field ideas, conducting a risk analysis before the final plan creation. This is their job which allows the team to stay inside the process, optimising their skills and experience to create plans that secure their future business success.

The feedback we receive from this particular process is invaluable to us and of course validating. I would like to share with you some points that are indicative of a strategic planning team’s reflections;

This is the first time I have left one of these sessions not drained.

I feel ready to go back to work and get straight into this

I am amazed at how pleasant this was and how much we achieved in so little time

It was so good to spend quality time with my colleagues and deliver a great result

Let’s make this our new standard

So good to remove the old adversarial defensive behaviour

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Report writing is something most of us have to do in our work lives or as members of associations we belong to. Here are ten tips for you.

1. Follow a Structure

There are many articles and publications on how to structure a formal report. At the least include;

• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

2. State the aim/purpose of the report in the introduction.

Even if you have to be blunt, put a big H2 heading saying “Aim” and then state:

“The aim of this report is to….”

It lets us all know what the report is about.

3. Use the “Journalistic Six” in developing the body.

The “Journalistic Six” is a checklist reporters use for developing their stories. It answers the questions:

• who
• what
• where
• when
• why
• how

4. If you have lots of technical information, attach it as an appendix.

Winston Churchill was really hot on this during WWII, when, as you can imagine, he had lots of bumf* to read.

5. Know your audience.

If the report is going to be read by the CEO, CFO and HR Manager you will have to express it differently than if it is going to be read by the Chief Engineer.

6. Do not use technical words, acronyms or jargon.

Unless you are absolutely sure that everyone who is going to read the report understands them, do not use the above, especially TLA’s (three letter acronyms). In general use plain English without foreign words.

7.  Separate facts and opinion.

Otherwise it detracts from the credibility of your report.

8. Conclusions and recommendations must be supported by the body of the report.

Firstly, make sure that you do have conclusions and recommendations. Reports without them that peter out into nothingness are frustrating to read. Also make sure that you have achieved your aim.

9. Review the document for accuracy, brevity and clarity.

Revise, revise, revise. Get someone else to proof read your document.

10. Follow George Orwell’s advice.

• Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
• Never use a long word where a short one will do.
• If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
• Never use the passive where you can use the active.
• Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
• Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

---

*n. Chiefly British Slang
1. Printed matter, such as pamphlets, forms, or memorandums, especially of an official nature and deemed of little interest or importance.
2. Toilet paper.
[Short for bum fodder]

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Miller-Heiman’s Strategic Selling Workshop (Blue sheet)is a fantastic process for organising your information about your sales opportunity, leading to an action plan to close the business.

Last week I delivered a program to group of technical people who had to convince customers to use their services. They were impressed with the strategic selling process because:

• the process was logical and sequential,
• it was not not just a series of opinions and inferences about the target account,
• although the information gathering requirement was much more complex than they were used to, the time saved overall was significant,
• they hadn’t realised that there were four types of buying influence, and this new understanding would help them close the sale.

The Strategic Selling process has been around for thirty years. Competitors and detractors might say that it’s “old hat”, but compare it to the automobile which has been around since 1769. The principles are still the same, but refinements are continuous. The same with Strategic Selling.

Strategic Selling works because it’s based on the continual analysis of the real life experience of successful sales professionals. What made them successful 30 years ago  makes them successful today; commitment, hard work, persistence, and above all, a superior constantly refined process!

For more information on strategic selling click here.

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Last week a client asked me if he should shave every day for work. I answered with Ron’s* Law - “It all depends”.

Why should we be assessed for employment because of our appearance? Why can’t we be hired for our natural charm, ability and output? There are many psychological treatises, but underlying is the requirement to conform if we want to be accepted by the group. It happens in the playground, it happens in the workplace. If you don’t want to conform with this group, find another.

If you’re selling B2B financial products (bad analogy today) you’d better look like someone who knows about these things, and that would normally entail wearing a suit and tie. If you’re a graphic designer, you’d better look hip and funky. Naturally there’s a lot of variation along the poseur-hobo continuum and to succeed, you need to know where your group fits.

Back to the issue of beards -

• evil dudes have dark facial hair - Rasputin, Osama bin Laden, Hitler
• very few guys look good with a three day growth
• take this test, do you look like George Clooney or a rat hiding behind a cactus?

Seriously, if you’re going for a job interview and you’re not sure about the corporate culture, shave.  Having a beard or stubble could go against you in a job interview, as could wearing a bright yellow suit - why risk it if you really want the position?

You mightn’t need to shave if:

• you are in a creative profession
• you are a sportsman
• you are an academic or public servant
• you are Santa
• you are a wizard

But then again if you were a futures trader you wouldn’t get a job if you had a beard, but you might get it if you had no ethics. It’s your call.

Last Word

Men who don’t shave every day enjoy less sex and are 70 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke than daily shavers.

Catherine

* I have no idea who Ron is, but he was very wise.

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I happens like this. You’re invited to John’s farewell, the drinks are flowing and his manager either doesn’t turn up, or doesn’t want to give a farewell speech. Either that or you are John’s manager, and giving farewell speeches is becoming far too frequent because of promotions or  company expansions.

Remember that nobody really likes long speeches, but if the occasion is that important, it should not be impromptu.

Here is a short mnemonic to remember what you could say:

PAST P

P - Purpose

Why are we here, where is he going, what has he been doing?

A - Achievements

What did John achieve while he was here - personally, professionally?

S - Story

Tell a very short (90 sec) story about John

T - Thanks

Thank him for his efforts

P - Presentation  Well Wishes

Present him with his farewell gift, wish him and his family etc all the best for the future, thank him again and call upon the crowd to show their appreciation.

You could also use this format to thank a visiting official or an executive from head office, or any occasion where there is a presentation.

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