Monday, February 16, 2009

Early Planning Leads To Six Sigma Success

By Craig Calvin

Strategic planning is about charting systematic plans of areas of concern that have far reaching and tactical implications on the project selection stage. The aim is to have fundamental decisions and actions that would guide the Six Sigma implementation to success. However, even well-thought-out strategic plans can fail.

There are many causes for processes to fail, but the major ones involve incomplete planning, inadequate planning and poor communication. Human capital is highly relevant in strategic planning, and team leaders often don't consider this important fact. There are always plans made for marketing, sales and product development, but the human factor is frequently ignored. The employees are important assets which are critical to the success of the plan.

It is important that there is careful linking of strategy to actions, the failure of which will jeopardize their implementation. Sometimes there are actions but they are not in any way related to the strategic planning - and the strategic changes are simply left for next year's plans. It is necessary to link actions and strategy to success by aiming at realistic strategic plans. To do so, develop strategy statements that can direct the organization towards achieving a competitive advantage. Your statement should be clear and simple, giving the direction to achieve a specific goal. Once you have a statement, translate it into strategic objectives that can suggest immediate projects that can be undertaken to achieve them. After you define the objectives, strategize those that will help achieve the desired results. Once done, define projects to achieve strategic objectives. Plan resources to meet the objectives and involve the employees in each step that will help gain their support, which is necessary to achieve the planned objectives.

Many projects fail due to the lack of communication. In strategic planning, when you define objectives, you should involve the employees of the organization. Whatever you plan should be communicated clearly to them. By communicating these plans, you can achieve their support and also find areas where any resistance exists. This helps them understand strategies that bring about buy-in, which in turn inspires the commitment of the employees who will achieve the targets.

When commitments and goals are met, they should be followed by rewards. This will make reaching further organizational goals easier. Objectives and plans must be clear and easy to understand or they won't succeed. Even when objectives are difficult, clear communication can allow for their success. By linking strategies and avoiding these deadly mistakes, you can assure your project of success.

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