Leading the Strategic Planning Process - Club Managers ...

136 Chapter 4Exhibit 3 Implementing Action PlansOperations(How)Effective Operations(+)Ineffective Operations(-)Strategy (What)Clear Strategy Unclear Strategy(+)(-)Success in past andfuture.(+/+)Some success in past;doubtful future.(-/+)Success in past;doubtful future.(+/-)Failure in past andfuture.(-/-)club has a clear strategy but ineffective operations, the club has likely enjoyed somesuccess in the past; however, future success is in doubt. Similarly, if the club has anunclear strategy but effective operations, the club has probably enjoyed success inthe past, yet future success is doubtful. In the worst scenario, the club has an unclearstrategy and ineffective operations. Most likely, the club has failed in the past andwill likely fail in the future unless major changes are implemented.Assessing ProgressWhatever form the action plan takes, being able to measure whether the clubis accomplishing its goals, objectives, and strategic initiatives is vital. The foundationalelement for controlling and monitoring progress is a connection to the“counts” and “times”—the objective measures—created in the budgeting process.For example, a renovation of the mixed grill, which was approved in the capitalbudget, would have developed from a strategic initiative and would includeassumptions of what, why, when, and how much. The objective measures for evaluatingits success—timing and dollars spent—are the answers to “when,” and “howmuch.” Monitoring and assessing progress should be continuous, occurring duringthe renovation as well as after completion of the project. Monitoring servestwo purposes: (1) it keeps all departments and functional areas on track, and (2)it ensures that accomplishments move the club toward long-range goals (thoseoutlined in the strategic plan).Strategic Implementation AnalysisStrategic implementation analysis is the process of examining a club’s efforts toensure that operations efforts are driven by strategic initiatives. Often, clubs spendtremendous effort, time, and money to create a strategic plan, then fail to integrateit into operations. The flurry of day-to-day operations creates a disconnectbetween what the club would like to become (its ideal, as defined by its strategicplan) and what it is (its current state, as defined by operations and implementation).The strategic implementation analysis form (see Exhibit 4) allows a manager