Communication Tip 42: Communicate from the Strategic Plan
It’s a clean way to structure your presentation or report that resonates with decision makers.
The next time you are getting ready for a big presentation, take a look at the organization’s strategic plan. One way to structure your presentation (or report) is to use the Strategic Goals to guide three or four sentences on each topic.
The Focus Areas Are Usually the Same
Typical Strategic Goals in a corporate strategic plan usually relate to five to eight focus areas:
- Financial
- Operational Performance
- Safety
- Customer Satisfaction
- Compliance
- Environment/Sustainability
- Workforce
- Innovation
For All Types of Presentations
Whether it’s a monthly report to the Board of Directors, a business case to senior management, or a controversial project with lots of complexity and uncertainty, structuring your information topically by the strategic plan is a powerful way to reach decision makers.
Fair Warning
Here’s a fair warning, though. Many organizations have weak strategic plans. That’s because they fall into the trap of creating a politically correct, public relations piece. The best plans focus the effort on how the front-line staff and operations use the plan’s content.
The advice is to look at the focus areas (like the above list) and less on the weedy details of the strategic plan.
Communicate with the Strategic Plan
The tip is to communicate with the strategic plan. It’s a clean way to structure your presentation or report. Using the strategic plan also resonates with decision makers because it is the organization’s compass.
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