Wednesday, August 20, 2008

What's your long-term plan?

Read where the President of the WNBA's Washington franchise is stressing accountability and long-term planning as the team is six games under .500 and has a losing record at home.

Said President Sheila Johnson:

"The Mystics have been operating for too long without a long-term plan. [We've been] far too sight-sighted and our player personnel decisions are far too needs-based. Our issue has not been lack of effort, it has been lack of talent. This is pro basketball. Good coaching and gutty performances can only take a team so far. There will be a lot of evaluation in the next month to come. Everybody is on notice."

This isn't unique to the WNBA or pro basketball. Organizations of all types -- from pro sports franchises to small businesses -- often lack a vision and a detailed plan for achieving that vision. In almost every case, those that do have significantly more success than those that don't.

And it's not just organizations -- it's departments and divisions and work-groups within those organizations that need a plan, including a clear strategy and action steps for executing that strategy. And at the end, there needs to be in place a way to measure how well your team or group or division did.

Planning isn't much fun, which is why people avoid it. But once you have a good plan, it gives you a road map -- you know where you're going and how to get there.