Successful pirates, such as Sir Francis Drake, generated phenomenal
wealth while unsuccessful pirates faced a long swim home.
Successful pirates always had a plan, which they had committed to
follow. The existence of a plan
did not guarantee success, but pirates who had not committed whole-
heartedly to a plan had little chance of succeeding.
The same is true today. We have to chart, then stick to, a course
that will build our success. The unexpected happens. We may be
diverted off course by sudden storms, but the stronger our commitment
to our plan, the quicker we get back on course and continue our
journey to success.
It is the planning process, rather than the plan itself that is most
important. The pirate planning process involved three steps:
Step #1: Build Commitment
Everything else being equal, commitment wins every time. The business
planning process is a valuable, but all too often overlooked
opportunity to build commitment. Early pirates were an unruly,
quarrelsome and lazy bunch. They quickly learned that they got
nowhere, until they had generated a solid commitment to work together
to steal and share treasures!
Pirate captains were the first to discover that people best
implemented decisions that they helped to make. Bearing this in mind,
pirates made a point of getting everyone on board before sailing,
by discussing and voting on the following key factors:
- Where they would sail.
- Their rules of conduct.
- How they would divide any and all treasures to be found.
With agreement on these points, pirates elected their captains and
held them accountable for following their plans.
The pirate practice of getting everyone on board before sailing is
still a great idea. People today, like the pirates of yesteryear,
best implement decisions that they help to make.
Furthermore, involving your colleagues in your planning sessions will
lead to better decisions. Two heads are better than one; three are
better than two, especially when they bring different perspectives to
the issues to be dealt with and the decisions to be made.
In larger organizations, senior management will usually develop its
purpose, objectives and corporate strategies. The next step, but one
that is often overlooked, is to then assign responsibilities and
accountabilities throughout the organization. Each team at every
level is asked to develop its own game plan for achieving its goals,
which in turn dovetail into the corporate goals. Properly done, this
process will strengthen the sense of ownership of, and commitment to,
decisions made.
Step #2: Discover Your Best Opportunities
Pirates found that the worlds oceans were huge, that they would
rapidly wear out their sails and rigging, and go a long time between
captured treasures, if they chose to chase ships all over the world.
To succeed, they had to choose what areas of the worlds oceans to
cover in their pursuit of treasures.
It was true of pirates and its still true today. You cannot be all
things to all people and need to focus on what you do best as part of
your business planning process. This involves two steps.
Firstly, review your core skills (what you like doing, do best and do
on a daily basis, that is of benefit to your targeted customers).
Secondly, identify your best marketplace opportunities. Start with
emerging future opportunities and threats that you need to consider
in your decision-making. Match up emerging opportunities with your
cores skills. Where do you see your best fits? Pick your most
promising one or two opportunities. Proceed to develop a game plan to
successfully develop and serve those markets.
Step #3: Innovate to Succeed
Only a very small percentage of businesses make a lot of money. Most
businesses fall into the trap of matching competitive pricing that
squeezes profit margins. Faced with such intense competition, pirates
would innovate sufficiently
to outsmart their opponents or sail away to find another situation
where they could be successful. What they would never do is stay in a
situation where they could not thrive.
Todays leaders have similar choices. They can craft innovative
strategies to serve customers so well that they leave their
competitors behind, or find new and more profitable markets to serve.
While competition was not a big factor for pirates, battles at sea
were. Such battles were extremely risky. Any ship could be hit and
sunk by a few lucky shots.
To avoid battles, successful pirates became innovators, appearing
when and where least expected to capture ships without fighting.
Whether the challenge is intense price competition, or the need to
avoid battles at sea, the solution is usually found through
innovative thinking. In each case, what is needed is a unique game
plan that opponents cannot quickly respond to successfully. Having
generated a head start, the best innovators continue to innovate,
leaving competitors to continually play catch up.
To maximize your crews innovative thinking capacity do the following:
- Move your business planning session off site. Rent a meeting room,
or someone elses boardroom.
- Allow time for people to shift their way of thinking away from
their own position in the company to look at issues from a purely
corporate perspective.
- Provide adequate time for discussions.
- Bring in a skilled facilitator who can energize your sessions,
stimulate innovative ideas and manage discussions.
- Listen proactively to each and every suggestion. Strive to truly
understand the possibilities behind each suggestion before ever
rejecting any idea.
- Generate humor and comic relief to keep the energy level high and
the innovative thinking flowing.
Wrap Up
Shiver me timbers mates, learn to plan like pirates. Build greater
commitment through shared decision making. Focus on your best
opportunities. Innovate to create bold, successful strategies. Then
set sail for your best year ever.
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