Leadership teams face a continuous stream of decisions. Without a strategic framework, these decisions will be driven by the moment rather than the plan. The Strategic Plan as a Decision Framework Making decisions within a strategic framework benefits the organization by: Tying Decisions to Strategic Priorities Evaluating alternatives within your strategic framework ensures decisions are tied to your strategic priorities. Doing this consistently will improve your plan's outco

We recently explored the role C-suite trust plays in strategic plan formulation , alignment  and execution  – key ingredients to every strategic plan’s success. Today’s post is about building this trust.    Trust Begins at the Top The CEO drives C-suite trust by hiring the right people, modeling trust-building behaviors, and, if necessary, addressing interpersonal conflict.   Hire Right Hiring for trust-building leadership is a crucial but often overlooked element in building

In my last post, All in on Alignment , we looked at why organizational alignment is so important and how to achieve it through the strategic planning process.  But before leadership teams can build alignment, they need to trust one another.   C-Suite Trust C-suite   trust exists when these three beliefs are true: Reliability Executives believe their business partners are reliable  - they deliver on their commitments, admit when they fall short and are present for each other