OpenStrategies

A simple system for Strategic Planning and Benefits Realisation

The (confusing) language of strategies Objective Goal Outcome Output Target Framework High-level strategy Operational strategy, outturns, mission, vision, KPI,

milestones, task, project, theme, strand, action plan, structure, tactics, direction, issues, priorities, underpinning principles, benefit, impact, strategic capacity, result purpose, roles, responsibilities, authority… (and occasionally, implementation)

The old Strategy Paradigm

A STRATEGY IS AN ACTION PLAN WITH A RATIONALE

OpenStrategies definition:

Why most strategies make no difference 3 levels of strategies

• Aspirational – high-level, not implementable• Guidance• Operational – action plans, implementable

Human cognitive limits

• In the mind 5 +/- 2• On paper 15 +/- 5?

It’s essential to be crystal clear about

what level of strategy you are

creating

Strategies need to be written in a

simple format, with information

‘chunked’ into units of 15-20 pieces of

information

The core OpenStrategies principle

The smallest amount of information…

that has the highest value…

to the most people

The core OpenStrategies principle

The smallest amount of information…

that has the highest value…

to the most people

Organisations run Projects

which produce Results (outputs/assets)

which people Use

to create Benefits (outcomes)

PRUB / BURP

Create assets Use assets

Planning (BURP)

Implementation (PRUB)

Assess customer’s needs based on what they want to do and achieve with our company’s potential new product

Information available on what customers want to do and achieve with our company’s potential new product

Use this information to design, build and test market new products to enable customers to do and achieve what they want to do and achieve

Accurate product and customer-use data is available relating to our company’s potential new product

Happy customers because they have done and achieved what they wanted to do and achieve

Sustainably manufacture, distribute and market our company’s new product

Our company’s new product available to customers together with relevant product marketing information

Customers buy and use our company’s new product to do & achieve what they want

Our company is sustainably profitable

Projects Results Uses Benefits

Projects

Actions undertaken by organisations or groups of organisations

Usually contain verbs, e.g. ‘build’, ‘develop’, ‘train’

Can be existing activity, planned activity, or just an idea

Results

The results of actions undertaken by organisations or groups of organisations

Typically contain nouns and are focused on the output produced by a project, e.g. a report, a piece of infrastructure, trained staff

Can be an existing result, a desired result, or simply an idea

Uses

How members of the community use the results created by organisations, e.g. cycling to work, attending workshops, receiving benefit payments

Typically contain verbs e.g. ‘attend’, ‘participate’, ‘receive’

Done by individuals, groups of individuals or private companies for their own benefit

Benefits

How members of the community benefit through using results e.g. ‘healthier people’, ‘improved standard of living’, ‘fewer teenage pregnancies’

Typically contain nouns The objective of all the previous work – the

reason for doing it

DEVELOPING IMPLEMENTAB

LESTRATEGIES

To enable Benefits, a strategy must…

1. Define what ideally needs to be done

2. Provide cause-and-effect Evidence that it will actually work

3. Demonstrate that it is worth it

Create and Validate a SubStrategy

1. High level SubStrategy (Aspirational)

2. Detailed SubStrategy (Guidance – Operational)

3. Evidence (Proof of cause and effect)

4. Value (Σ£VB > Σ£CP + Σ£CU)

Training Strategy – Guidance level

Develop Clinics &

Workshops for CEOs

Clinics & Workshops on xyz are available

CEOs attend Clinics &

Workshops

The CEOs’ organisations improve xyz performance

Example Sub-strategy - Operational

PRUB AND BENEFITS REALISATION

Project…

…Mirac

le…

…Benefi

ts

There are no short-cuts to Benefits…To be effective…

Projects must lead to Results

which must lead to Uses

which must lead to Benefits

Example

Ian SeathImprovement Skills Consulting Ltd.

• ian.seath@improvement-skills.co.uk

• 07850 728506• @ianjseath

• www.improvement-skills.co.uk

SUPPORTING SLIDESAddendum

From Strategy to Benefit

Good strategies can improve alignment, focus on productive activities and improve effectiveness and efficiency.

Most strategies have minimal impact. Why?

They have minimal impact because they simply can’t be implemented effectively. Why?

There are many links in the chain from a generic strategy (e.g. a “high level” national strategy) to specific plans and implementation.

If any one of these links is broken, the strategy probably won’t be implemented.

The OpenStrategy Diagnostic consists of a rigorous series of questions based on a simple flow-chart of steps from the generic or high-level strategy through actions, to the ultimate creation of real Benefits.

PRUB Diagnostic Flowchart

e = “Evidence”

Aspirational

Guidance

Operational

In almost every Strategy process.. There are one or more generic strategic planning steps which create

generic, non-implementable strategies such as national strategies (boxes 1 and 2: Generic Strategic Planning leading to Generic Strategies)

There are one or more specific planning steps which create specific, implementable plans such as local action plans (boxes 3 and 4: Specific Planning leading to Specific Plans)

There is a specific doing step during which products/services get built or created and organisational stakeholders get trained (boxes 5 and 6: Specific Projects leading to Specific Results)

There is a specific using step in which end-users use whatever has been built in order to create Benefits for themselves and others (boxes 7‑13: Specific Uses leading to Specific Benefits)

PRUB Diagnostic identifies…

The PRUB Diagnostic will determine, explicitly, which of many different reasons why a Project should be stopped: it's producing a non-adoptable Orphan Result it's producing a potentially adoptable Orphan Result it's producing a potentially Useful Result that isn't

being Used, again for various reasons it's producing a Useful Result that is being Used but

the value of the Benefits is less than the cost of the associated Project(s)

Diagnostic Questions (1) Is every organisational planning and project activity unequivocally linked

through boxes 1-6 to genuinely enable the Uses (box 7) to create one or more Benefits (boxes 8-13)?

Who exactly is undertaking the Planning in boxes 1 and 3, the Projects in box 5 and the Uses in box 7? 

What is the evidence that each link between boxes will actually happen? Specifically, what is the evidence that: the stakeholders in box 3 will actually adopt the generic plans/strategies (Orphan

Results) from box 2 assuming that the plans in box 2 are perfect? the stakeholders in box 5 will actually adopt, resource and implement the specific

plans (Orphan Results) from box 4 assuming that the plans in box 4 are perfect? the Users in box 7 will actually Use the Results in box 6? these Uses in box 7 will actually create the Benefits in boxes 8-13? the cost of a specific Project in box 5 is less than the value of all the Benefits

arising via Results and Uses from that Project?

Diagnostic Questions (2)

Are the Projects (box 5), Results (box 6) , Uses (box 7) and Benefits (boxes 8-13) sufficiently specific that they will actually happen:

geographically specific? thematically specific? organisationally (including partnerships) specific? demographically specific? process specific?

Pass / Fail?

In order to pass the OpenStrategy Diagnostic and hence have an implementable strategy that will actually make a difference:

The answer to question 1 must be “yes” The answers to question 2 must be “precise and

explicit” The answers to questions 3 must be “convincing” The answers to questions 4 must be “yes, they are

sufficiently specific to attach budgets, Project Managers and stakeholders to”