When working with one of our clients recently on their strategic plan, two interesting issues came up.  The first was about communication.

(Flickr by Occupancy Heroes)

An important part of any organization’s Strategic Plan is The Communication Plan, which includes:

• Who needs to know about the business plan (or the “audience”)
• How information will be communicated
• Who will communicate this information
• How often communication will occur
• What the audience needs to know

One of the audiences listed in this organization’s Communication Plan was “Family”. The thinking was that we work hard to be successful because of family.  A large percentage of our clients keep families informed and included at home via letter, email, at a holiday gathering, etc. These communications relay the importance of what their family member does at work and why the family supporting the worker at home is so important. Many times, families are forgotten and viewed as secondary to the career, whereas they are really a powerful tool to help drive success.  Letting them know the success of the company in achieving long term goals is valuable.

The second issue is diversity.

(Flickr by Victor Feng)

This particular team was well diversified: multi-cultural, multi-generation, balanced with genders, varied background (big city to farm town), and education levels (little high school to advanced post-graduate), etc. and had been meeting with us monthly for several years. For those of you that do not see value in doing this or feel that there are too many differences to try it with your team: GET THEM IN THE SAME ROOM AND WORKING TOWARDS 5 YEAR KEY SMAART GOALS! It will change everyone’s world.

Watching this team come together and perform has been very exciting for everyone involved and, perhaps to some, a shock that the differences actually make it easier to work together and get better results. The different opinions create confidence that all options have been explored and it is fun.  It has also improved the attitudes and confidence of everyone on the team. We have not tallied the results from the feedback we got, but on a 10 scale it look like going from a 4 to an 8.5 on a 10 point scale…

• Does your organization have a clear, concise Communication Plan?
• Do your leaders embrace diversity that can enhance their teams?
• Does your organization have systems in place to incorporate various communication methods, audiences, and employees?

A good quote in a meeting: “A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still.”

“A ship is safe in a harbor, but that is not what it was built for” – John Augustus Shedd’s Salt from My Attic.

Your success is in plain sight; it just takes determination and action!  Contact us for your complimentary session by calling 800-786-4332, or email Info@AppliedVisionWorks.com.  It only takes 30 minutes to get started!