How traveling to Japan reminded me of the joy - and challenge - of planning

This past month, I was blessed to spend two weeks traveling around Japan with my partner and two teenaged kids. What an amazing trip! Our two kids both studied Japanese at their high school, and our older kid has studied Japanese in college to the point of being fluent. So we had a “translator” with us, which made the trip more enjoyable and smooth.

As we were taking in new sights, sounds, and food, I noticed some key lessons about strategic planning. I can’t help it, I see strategic planning everywhere! :)

Here are five insights about strategic planning that emerged during our travels:

Planning increases the likelihood that you’ll get where you want to go

In preparing for our trip, we picked three locations we were interested in visiting: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka, and booked accommodations in each. We collected ideas and recommendations from others of what we might do in each place. We had some “starred locations” that we were interested in. Our planning helped us to get a taste of the sights in each of these cities. We love nature, so put many parks on our proposed itinerary. We love great food, and some family members wanted to shop for gifts, anime merchandise, and clothing. So before we left, we had a general sense of our goals - which contributed to accomplishing them!

It’s the same with strategic planning. We work with our clients to create a practical vision, and then create strategies and goals to turn them into reality. When leaders work together to create clarity about where they want to go, the likelihood increases that they’ll get there.

It is hard work, and worthwhile, to find the balance between holding to the plan and being open to new realities

In addition to selecting key locations before departure and bringing many ideas, our family held a nightly planning meeting to finalize the next day’s agenda. Often, new information had emerged, such as a recommendation from a waiter or taxi driver, that shifted our plans, or we couldn’t go to the park as planned because rain was in the forecast. Honestly, it was fun and it was a lot of work! Every day, we had to make some decisions about the next day’s activities.

Our clients find this balance as they implement their strategic plans. They have clarity about what they’re working towards. And their “weather” or new information might include funding shifts, leadership transitions, and shifts in the external environment. The teams we work with focus on their goals, and hold frequent team meetings to continue to get aligned about how the plan will change in real time.

Every plan needs to be right-sized to the people carrying out the plan

Among our family group, there were a number of different interests. Some of us wanted to go to more museums. Some wanted to walk many, many miles. Others were interested in guided tours (yeah, that was me). We created a plan that was doable for all and did not leave anyone behind. Sometimes, this meant walking less than one person would have liked or touring on our own rather than with a guide. We also “split up” at times so that those who wanted could do more shopping!

It’s the same with strategic planning. A key idea of Inclusive Strategic Planning is that the people doing the work build the goals. The result is that they are clear and doable, and no one is left behind! Getting clarity on goals also allows different team members to focus on the pieces that they’re working on.

Bring snacks and nourish your people

The first few days of the trip, I was becoming irritable in the late mornings. Finally, my kids pointed this out to me and shared that it was stressful for them to experience this! Chagrined, I realized that in addition to being jet lagged, I was getting hangry (hungry + angry) after lots of walking and waiting for lunch. My solution was to buy some delicious Japanese snacks (like trail mix, but made of rice, seaweed, mochi, red bean paste, etc.) to keep in my backpack. I had what I needed to thrive and be present for each experience.

Keeping team members nourished and feeling good is so important. And food is just a starting point as your people need more than food to be satiated, their soul also must feel fulfilled: Almost every strategic plan we work on includes strategies around competitive salaries, professional development, and expanding a positive work culture.

Ultimately, people – and humanity – is more powerful than whatever might be planned

One of our most memorable experiences was sitting with some Japanese friends waiting for a spot to open at a conveyer belt sushi restaurant. We talked with them about the economy, taxes, work, advancing in school, cultural differences, and more. Their influence sprinkled in a magic touch that could never be planned, timed, or expected.

As much as we saw many memorable temples and shrines, ate incredible meals and had our eyes opened to a different way of living, we were also open to what came available to us so we could be flexible and bend to those choices. Sometimes, being so rigidly adherent to your plan means that you miss wonderful opportunities that can pop up at some of the most unexpected times. Not only that, but there are other lessons that you learn along the journey that are important insights. Anytime you plan, you try to factor everything in, but there are inevitably things that slip through. Discovery by doing is just as important.

Flexibility in strategic planning works for vacation – or your organization

Having those rough ideas, the big ideas of what you want to do – like your overarching vision, the path for your organization, and what you’d like to achieve for the next five years – will increase the likelihood of hitting those goals. Narrowly focusing on solely those objectives can also hurt your chances of expanding on them. However, being open and flexible to shifting allows the organization to move with more agility to where the opportunities are.

Likewise, not every plan needs ‘all hands on deck,’ but moving the number of people to where they need to be to achieve the goal. This usually helps to put people where they most want to be in the organization as well – then they can do what suits them best and help the organization the most. Understanding – then addressing directly – the shortcomings of the people in your organization is important. Nourishing the people to ensure that they are well tended to will help them to keep their stress down, rest up, and prepared for the mission ahead.

Finally, a word from my travels is the overall encouragement that I needed to see: After so much discouragement in this country because of the negative politicization and upheaval, I feel like I can have some optimism in humanity again. People around the world are trying the best they can to make life better for themselves and those that come after them. We have more in common than we don’t. And that alone can give us reason to keep going. 

Are you ready for a strategic planning journey that builds connection, alignment, learning, and preparation? If so, reach out to us at The Ross Collective.