The operational plan supports the strategic goals.

It is usually simple to have a strategic goal that needs to be reached, as that mostly requires the words articulated within a document. The part that gets a bit tricky is actually putting together the operational plan that will support the overall strategy. This is where the rubber hits the road!

We need to always look at how we are able to deliver the strategy through the day to day activities that we do. We need to have a clear understanding of what are the activities, that if they are executed over time they will allow us to realise our strategic objectives.

We might need to change the way in which we work or measure the work. We might need to bring in special skills into our environment that will enable us to meet and exceed our strategy.

The work that goes into our operational plan is actually what will make the strategy a bit more meaningful and possible to achieve. This means getting every level in the operations excited and believing in the execution of the overall strategy.