Saturday, October 16, 2010

Part IV: Planning, organising and managing implementation

Strategies have to be practically implemented, if they are to work.

This brings up issues of planning and management, such as:
  • setting realistic -- SMART -- goals [targets for achievement], that is, goals that are:
  • S = Specific
  • M = Measurable
  • A = Attainable
  • R = Realistic
  • T = Timely
  • etc, etc, etc . . . one of the biggest pressures on a manger is the sheer number of demands s/he faces . . .
 All these, and more have to be done (over and over again -- often on very short notice), and have to be consistently done well if the overall job is to get done.

That's a formidable list.

No doubt about it.

But, step by step -- with a bit of help the first time through (or two)! -- we can successfully and confidently tackle it, and the outline planning document in the set of seminar resources will help us do that effectively.

(You may also want to look at the "Planning and Management 101" primer here, for background reference. There are many more details here at Carter McNamara's online micro eMBA, and in his strategic programme planning guide. But that is for those who want in-depth details.)

For this part of our seminar, we will focus on:

Implementation: adopting and executing a strategy

This is based on the ADCC plan implementation factors:
ACTION-STEPS  -- what must be done to achieve the accepted goals, where, when, how, by whom; using what required input resources

DELIVERABLE RESULTS -- what will result from carrying out the action steps successfully

CONTINGENCY PLANNING -- what has to be done to handle unexpected changes

CONTROLS -- how to monitor, coordinate and manage the process in the light of contingencies. (If you are unlucky enough, this actually may dominate the implementation process.)
 This phase of strategic planning and implementation is what puts a strategy to work on the ground:
i --> actions steps are laid out in a logical order towards accepted goals, and are carried out by the team, producing

ii  --> deliverable results (which we compare to the targetted goals), and

iii --> which we then use to adjust what we do in light of contingencies, so that

iv --> we can take organised control steps to correct the inevitable tendency to be surprised and to have little emergencies that tend to make a plan or strategy go off-track.
This brings up the work-group group cycle, where when a group forms, it tends to go through a loop of conflict [storming], resolution [norming] and actual productivity [performing], as it tries to produce the desired deliverable results; and then of course it is wound up:



It is often helpful to write out a plan [especially for something like a medium term strategy!], and we may have to present it; these days, usually using something like PowerPoint or an equivalent (like Open Office Impress).

Show and tell time . . . 

Ever since the days of primary school show and tell  and "recitations" at church festivals, we have been making presentations, and for most of us, the experience has always been an ordeal, one that can be very embarrassing, or even end in tears.

But, it does not have to be so.

And, it had better not be so, for presentation skills are very, very important: you have to present and win confidence in both your idea and yourself. Live. Sometimes, under pressure. (Look here on how David had to respond -- in public -- to sharp and cutting criticism by his own big brother, just before he was brought before king Saul, and then here on how he then won the confidence of the king to send him out to -- successfully -- battle Goliath with sling and stone. [Talk about: low tech, low budget, high vision, high anointing!])

Presentation is so important in management that there is a saying: manage by presentation.

We are in the digital age, and so, that now means we all need to know enough on presentation using PowerPoint or similar software to get by.

Okay, showtime . . .

This Youtube Flash video gives tips on being effective with a presentation, following the techniques used by Steve Jobs, maybe the single most effective corporate presenter in the world:



(And if you will make time to follow the string of videos starting here, you will see some eye-opening hints and tips, as well as a powerful example by one of the best I have seen, one who is also an awesome teacher. By the way, these principles are also great for learning how to teach a Bible class or preach a sermon. For these, the principles of inductive Bible study here will also be helpful. I highly recommend The Word and e-Sword open source Bible study software. Online clipart galleries such as this may be helpful. I love AiG's After Eden cartoons. This Sunday School resource site may be helpful, too.)

For specific design tips, this is a useful practical summary:



(Of course, presentation rules are not cast in stone. When it's the right time and place, such rules -- like pie crusts, are made to be broken if they are in the way of something really good. But -- just as with pie, don't over-indulge. Use your judgement.)

Here is a useful 101 on using PowerPoint style software to do a presentation:



(Here is a good 101, for the MS Office 2007/10 version.)

Sizzle vs Substance

"Sell the sizzle not the steak" is an old ad man's truism. But a second one is: "where's the beef?":



In short, sizzle -- inviting experience -- sells, but you had better have substance to back it up!

Q: How, then, do we create, organise and present a solid, attractive strategic plan?

A: A good place to begin (once you have an idea of what you want to achieve) is with the "simple" ADCC worksheet, or -- if you feel a bit more adventurous -- with a modified form of the now fairly well-known Logical Framework table. "Log Frame," for short. (Cf. Appendix 1 on the outline planning document, or you might look at a handbook here and a detailed reference here. CIDA has an interesting development, using a different name, here. This is pro-grade stuff.)

These planning tools are based on a simple causal chain, where one thing leads to another:


The "Log Frame" allows you to identify [at "short bullet-point phrase" level, on one sheet of paper] vision level outcomes, goals, activities and effort to achieve such, and required input resources, then think about critical success factors that have to be in place to achieve these things, the indicators that will help you know that you are on track, and identify and manage the inevitable breakdowns and risks. Using estimates of time required, and the lists of activities and who are to carry them out [actors], the timeline Gantt chart can be filled in. Such a Log Frame then is great for laying out the one page summary framework, a presentation or the detailed plan document.

But, nothing complex can be implemented without proper . . .

 Organisation

Most plans of any size require at least a few people to work together on a sustained basis.

That means we need to organise work or project teams, and set these teams in bigger management frameworks that allow a strategy to be sustained across time. For the very simplest work groups, an executive team or committee for a group can be set up [cf. MVAT, Step II], much like:



In such a team, we tend to have several core offices (which may have different names and certain special roles for, say, a church's board):
a] Chair: coordinates, leads meetings of the executive [hence the name] and is the public face and voice of the initiative.
 
b] Vice-Chair. & Projects Coordinator: organises and manages the seminars and other projects as they come online through the action teams.
c] Secretary: correspondence, minutes of meetings, periodic reports on progress/gaps relative to plans; also sees to correct procedure, records and hospitality and protocol.

d] Treasurer: manages and helps raise funds, keeps the books [cf. GNUCash for a free- for- a- download, open source software simple accounting system], providing transparency over finances.
 
e] Partners/ members & Public Relations Officer: promotes good relations and collaboration with partners or members, and outreach to the church community and wider public.
 In addition to an executive, an organisation typically works based on a cluster of small activity groups that meet in what are sometimes called "caves," and comes together as a whole to use common facilities, and takes advantage of networks in a community, ranging from roads, utilities and telephones to the Internet.

For a typical church, think of Sunday school classes, prayer bands, neighbourhood study groups, Dorcas circles,  the choir, the congregation's main meeting [and its hall], and how a church may use the community's roads for bussing, car pooling etc, as well as of course the church telephone, fax, e-mail and web site:


 One secret of mobilising the people resources in a typical church is to organise and transform the "cave"-groups into work/project teams that function as action-cells of the body at work:


Such "action-cells" (more commonly called "cell groups" or "classes" or "ministry groups" or even "small groups") serve to help in reaching out to people in the wider community, help nurture and support growing Christians, give room for people to express their gifts and talents, and serve as ministry action teams.

Cells are actually quite old.

Jesus' circle of the 12 was a cell, and when the very first church came into being in Jerusalem, we see from Acts 2 how it worked:
Acts 2:42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
 Organising VFM


 These principles are being applied to VFM, to help it work towards its strategic vision:


Think about where your ministry fits into this framework. (Or, if your church uses a different framework, how your work fits in with it.)

Activities

1 -->  This is the week we plan to have several evening sessions, where we will work through the plans and presentations, live. Plan to free up the four evenings in succession, and to be ready for your part.

2 -->  At the same time, you will want to go through the summary content above, and watch the videos.

3 -->  If you have access to a PC with MS PowerPoint (or OpenOffice Impress) you will want to develop a rough form presentation for your sessions. try to make it fairly short, maybe 4 - 5 slides after the title slide (and not counting the end slide).

4 -->  To do so, you will need to refer to your VMVEGS sheet, your SWOT-alignment, and your ADCC or Log Frame. If you feel adventurous, you might even fill out a Gantt chart and an outline budget, all of which are enclosed with the outline plan document.

5 -->  The other big task for the week will be to put in some bullet point level notes into the narrative part of that outline. (Don't erase the hint notes just yet, they will help guide you.)

Onward:

The final major activity for this seminar will be to produce the planning documents. These should be submitted by the agreed date, for assessment and issuing VFM leadership training certificates of achievement.
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