The Strategic Action Process - Introduction

Many organizations owe their past success to a unique strategic position that involved clear trade-offs. Frequently – over time and through a succession of incremental changes to product lines, customer service, and “me-to” emulation of competitors – an organization can lose its clear competitive position and advantage. Today, organizations face the demands of greatly accelerated and intensified competition. The result; traditional sources of advantage are short lived. Organizations must continually gain and regain their competitive advantages by generating, evaluating and implementing innovative products, services and customer solutions. In short, to remain successful, organizations must continually strive to get to the future first.

The Strategic Action Process is about change. This requires self-examination, a willingness to confront difficult choices and the establishment of clear priorities. If you plan to continue doing the same things, in the same ways, with the same results, this process may not be for you.

The word “strategic” in the title indicates a focus on doing different things than your competitors are doing, or in some cases, doing the things your competitors are doing differently, in order to establish and maintain a competitive advantage. It is not about doing “anything” differently than your competitors, but about doing the right things differently. The word “action” in the title focuses the process on “doing” rather than “talking”. Action plans will be produced by Mission Goal Teams, approved as appropriate, executed, monitored and reviewed on a timely basis, and led by people in the organization who will accept the responsibility and accountability for producing results that will make a difference.

The Strategic Action Process has been designed to be elegant in its simplicity. Not easy. Elegant. It is about anticipation. It requires an organization to think about its future, be honest about its present, make up its mind about its direction and then do something to make it all happen. Simple, but not easy.

The Strategic Action Process is a series of actions designed to bring about the specific results that will prepare an organization for its future. A Vision Statement serves to focus the effort and start everyone on the same page. Mission Goals represent challenges that will move an organization forward. Performance Goals, Drivers, and Tasks identify the “what to do and how to do it” of the implementation plans for each Mission Goal. These implementation plans are, in turn, monitored and reviewed on a timely basis through an Electronic Performance Review Document.

The Strategic Action Process (TSAP) combines the best elements of strategic planning, performance focused teams and project management into a framework that can easily be understood, applied and successfully completed. The key to the success of the process is that it works. Clients have found The Strategic Action Process to be highly participative, energizing for the organization and successful in producing significant results. A second key to success is the commitment of key members of senior management who care enough about the organization’s future to commit the necessary time, energy, motivation and resources to make it happen. With the necessary commitment on the part of senior management, The Strategic Action Process will support the organization in successfully meeting the competitive challenge and getting to the future first.