“We spend so much time worrying about our kids being good–not breaking the rules, getting into trouble, and basically behaving–that we often forget to invite them to be great.”
–Erwin Raphael McManus, pastor and author

Great article. WAYTOGO for encouraging that young boy and for reminding us how important it is to think for ourselves and be proactive. Thanks, Rex Houze

I think organizations do strategic planning in the traditional sense because they have been conditioned to believe that that it works and it is what they are supposed to do. If only 5-10% of these plans are ever implemented however, then 90-95% of the organizations that do it are simply making themselves feel better for completing the exercise (reducing anxiety).

We engage the organization in a process that takes them a generation into the future and asks them to describe what the world and their industry looks like. Then we ask what they would have to do if they were to become the model organization of the future they described. Once distilled, the retrospective narrative they compose will include the elements of their purpose, operating philosophy, business model and organizational structure and culture. This process is along the lines of Steven Tighe’s (another speaker at the conference in Australia with Robert Burke and myself) Strategic Foresight process — working back from the future, as opposed to projecting forward from the present.

To tie it back to Robert Burke’s comments about meaning and purpose the process I described above is part of our approach to personal and organizational development which revolves around this fundamental principle of human behavior: “Without a purpose our only motivation is reward and punishment.”

People today are searching for two things: 1) the opportunity to fulfill their own unique potential (defined as Self-Actualization by Abraham Maslow) and 2) the opportunity to contribute their potential to something bigger than themselves (what we call Team-Actualization). People want and need to identify with a common purpose that is collectively bigger than their individual selves. They don’t want to be employees, they want to be partners in a cause. Then they must see how their piece of the puzzle (the individual’s own unique purpose) fits into the big picture of the organization’s purpose.

Thanks for your response,

Jim Whitt
Purpose Unlimited

“The reason organizations do strategic planning is to reduce anxiety”

sounds strange. Can you name some companies that believe that?

And the “new” planning based on “purpose” ….. how is that different from the traditional, classic, and best (Porter) planning concepts about “positioning”?

But thanks for your interesting article; it’s something to think about.

Cheers,
Alan S. Michaels, President
http://www.eCompetitors.com