We recently utilized our air power against Libya arguably by numerous people from both sides of the aisle without an End Game, to me, that is like driving in the dark.

At that point we have no idea of the outcome. Without lights, euphemism for an End Game, the odds are not in our favor. You don't get up in the morning and get in your car without knowing exactly what your destination is. That is what an End Game is all about; what exactly is your destination. You can't run a company effectively, maximizing all opportunity without creating a long term plan. And, there is no such thing as a long term plan that will work without a defined End Game.

The Libya situation reminds me of what I often see in companies every day. It's either a lack of serious long term planning or the lack of a defined End Game. The End Game is the foundation for planning. The "End Game" in business is simply defining what winning the game in your business is really about. What does winning mean. Every end game is different, unique to the business, unique to its creator. The end game can be as simple as a statement about the character and integrity of the business with a vision or as detailed and complex as defining individual business segment growth with specific financial goals outlined with attendant time lines.

Every Business Needs a Long Term Plan

I know some of you are so involved in fighting fires that you believe there isn't time to develop a strategic plan. Some of you may consider long term planning a waste of time. Some believe long term planning is what you are going to do after lunch and some may even believe there is no value in strategic planning because as the owner/CEO you know what it takes to be successful and all your employees need to do is listen to you.

Hello, you could be wrong! You may need to adapt to this century. Times have changed, leadership has evolved. The days of the "Lone Wolf" leader at the top who dominates with power are gone.

Successful privately held organizations have gone through the leadership evolutionary process. They understand that today's leader must create change in the organization to meet the needs of their customers, to meet the needs of their employees and to meet the needs of their vendor partners. It involves a particular life cycle change.

Strategic Planning is a Platform for Change

Strategic planning is a key process that adjusts an organization's direction in response to a changing environment. It supports the fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide an organization. A sound strategic plan can help define and focus a distributor's efforts to move the company in the right direction, using the best methods.

Show Me the Value

I cannot emphasize enough that the true value of a strategic plan is not in the document itself. It is in the process of creating it, involving many of your employees from the bottom up.

This empowers them to be more effective and better-informed leaders, managers and decision makers. Creating a culture that embraces empowerment and working together as a team is probably the most effective way to create success. The more people work together and take ownership of the long term objectives the more unity and teamwork become a direct route to success.

Time after time I am told by prior clients that the real value they received from the strategic planning process was in the personal development of the strategy team members and the involvement of the entire company working together as a team in a team atmosphere. The results seemed almost automatic. Even the most brilliant strategy is worth nothing if it isn't executed well, especially by your front line — the employees who interact daily with your customers.

You are Handicapped without Unity, a Common Shared Vision and Ownership of the Plan

Strategic planning creates a team culture that is necessary for success. Working together effectively is not automatic. It takes a specific effort and the development of a culture that is supported by executive management.

Shared experiences create unity and value. Knowledge transfer is essential for an organization to grow. Without knowledge transfer and the sharing of the planning experience it is difficult for the group to share the vision and work toward common goals. More importantly, without the strategic planning experience it is much more difficult for employees to function together in such a manner that brings out the best in each other and the entire management team.

Create a Dynamic Force

It is not a natural occurrence for employees to stop thinking of each other as competitors and start working as a team. It is much more difficult to accomplish than it sounds. However, it is a natural by-product of the strategic planning process itself. More importantly, it fills a vital need if you want to create or maintain competitive advantage in your business.

The Strategic Planning Value Includes:

1. More direct success in executing action plans and initiatives. Ownership of action items are imperative with time lines and defined desired results allowing the team to tackle more complex projects more efficiently than just individual managers.

2. The strategic planning process allows the development of more creative solutions because it leverages the creativity and innovation of all the strategy team members. When team members bounce ideas off of each other, they arrive at solutions that may never have emerged alone. Seeing things from different perspectives is invaluable when it comes to personal leadership development.

3. Commitment to ideas and plans become an exciting part of the process as employees take ownership of the initiatives. When employees are involved in a project from the start, they are more likely to be committed to the ideals it represents. They also develop the unique ability to pass that excitement, that commitment and that ownership on to the entire organization.

4. Strategic planning utilizing CEO Strategist's proprietary team process that starts with the Owners/CEO End Game and empowers the team to develop the roadmap without being intimidated by the presence of the CEO creates empowerment throughout the group that encompasses focus, process, discipline and accountability for the achievement of the "End Game – Vision for the Future." That ownership not only challenges the team to be creative but it releases discretionary energy throughout the organization.

5. Strategic planning activities motivate your employees to deliver their very best effort on behalf of the company. The fundamental benefit of the planning process includes the development of the following:

• A framework and a clearly defined direction with unified support
• A clear vision and purpose owned by all employees
• Enhanced employee commitment to the firm and its goals
• A set of priorities that matches company resources
• A trend analysis that generates the confidence to take risks
• Accountability built in to a control process

E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com if you need help or want to discuss your strategic planning process.

Rick Johnson, Executive Advisor, Expert Speaker, Wholesale Distribution's "Leadership Strategist", founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com.  Don't forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business.

www.ceostrategist.com