By
Essien Abel Essien
Director, Strategic Planning
ECOWAS Commission
Presentation to the ECOWAS Management Retreat, Accra, Ghana, March 6-9, 2009
OUTLINE
“In this period
of rapid change
we should shift
from strategic
planning to
strategic
thinking and
strategic
management
otherwise
strategic
planning would
impede strategic
thinking ( Henry
Mintzberg
(1994)”.
Introduction
Strategic Thinking
Setting Strategic Direction
Final Notes
Concluding Remarks
INTRODUCTION
“The smartest and
most effective
Managers think,
plan, and act
strategically.
Inexperienced
Managers make the
mistake of focusing
only on stopping
things. Their only
action is reaction.
All they do is
maintain the status
quo and they
actually lose in the
long run, because
the rules never
change and there are
all sorts of things
they’re not
stopping.”
Strategic action is necessary in situations where
circumstances block the way to an objective.
Smart Managers use strategic thinking to identify
areas of vulnerability, and then try to figure out
how to exploit that vulnerability.
The role of Management in the planning process is
to set strategic direction for the organization.
This they do through developing the skills of
Strategic Thinking
STRATEGIC THINKING
“To think before
planning is a
logical one, yet
most strategic
planning
processes devote
insufficient think
time prior to
planning. The
desire to get a
strategic plan
completed
quickly relegates
thinking to
filling in blanks
on work sheets”.
Strategic thinking is about synthesis, about using
intuition and creativity to formulate an integrated
perspective, a vision, of where the organization
should be heading.


Strategic thinking is used to:
Identify such situation, and then try to figure out
how to exploit it to the advantage of the
organization.
Solve problems before they happen, examining the
pros and cons of various moves in order to
identify the best course of action.
STRATEGIC THINKING:
CREATING A STRATEGY
“If you
lose sight
of your
goals and
objectives,
everything
goes
haywire”.
Creating a strategy involves:
Defining goals and intermediate and short-term
objectives
Identifying Obstacles
Carrying out a SWOT analysis
Imagining and playing scenarios
Identifying primary and secondary targets
Deciding what resources are required
Identifying allies
Devising tactics
Drawing up an action timetable.
STRATEGIC THINKING:
PRIORITIES FOR MANAGEMENT
“There two
important tools
available to
planners in helping
Management think
strategically-Visioning and
Scenario building-by identifying what
is on the horizon,
signals of change in
specific sectors of
the macroenvironment (social,
technological,
economic,
environmental, and
political) and
suggesting their
implications.”.
Determining the Vision for the Strategy
Debate current strategy to ensure that all are at the
same level of understanding—Where are we today?
Examine the environment. Systematically examine
the most significant variables, issues --internal and
external to the organization.
Determine the Strategic Options
 Assumes there are sustainable results in terms of
growth that need to be achieved over the next
strategic time frame
 Assumes there are particular skills and capabilities
which should be continuously developed to
sustain success
 Ensures consistency when allocating resources
and when choosing between opportunities in all
future decision making.
STRATEGIC THINKING:
PRIORITIES FOR MANAGEMENT
“Planners should
encourage
Management to
think about the
future in creative
ways, to
question
conventional
wisdom, to raise
difficult
questions, and to
challenge
conventional
wisdom and
assumptions”.
Develop a Strategy Profile for the future.
Using the strategic options, construct a statement of
strategy which clearly explains the concept and
purpose of the organization. This statement is concise,
unambiguous and easy to understand.
It can be used to communicate strategy to all
stakeholders both internally and externally.
A future strategy is built on collective skills and
capabilities, which are clearly identify so that resources
can be allocated for the purpose of honing these skills
into a sustainable competitive edge.
STRATEGIC THINKING:
PRIORITIES FOR MANAGEMENT
“Consider three
interlocking rings
of who you are
(strengths and
weaknesses), what
the stakeholder
wants
(opportunities and
threats), and what
you stand for
(purpose and
mission). The
central intersection
created by these
three rings will
reveal the unique
opportunities that
only your
circumstance can
offer”.
Define the Critical Issues.
All the issues and actions that are seen as critical to
the success of the strategy are clearly identified.
Each critical issue is prioritized and all the high
priority issues are taken and expanded into an
action plan by identifying the key plan steps and
resources needed.
An owner for each of the individual high priority
critical issues is also appointed.
This is to make sure that it optimizes the
organization’s strengths, maximizes its
opportunities and demonstrates a distinctive
competitive edge.
STRATEGIC THINKING: PRIORITIES
FOR MANAGEMENT
“Thinking
and
exploration
might be
considered
the strategic
segment
while the
planning
stage is the
tactical
segment”.
Determine the Main Strategic Mandate
Future strategy will be driven forward by focusing on
specific operational functions and processes.
Define the Strategic Initiatives.
The specific strategic initiatives are identified by
individual strategic function or mandate. Each
initiative has clear and measurable objectives
together with the outline steps to be completed and
the resources needed are quantified.
SETTING STRATEGIC DIRECTION:
THE PLANNING PROCESS
“Strategic
planning is
only useful if
it supports
strategic
thinking and
leads to
strategic
management
- the basis for
an effective
organization
”.
Explained
Strategic
Because it involves preparing the best way to respond to
the circumstances of the organization's environment,
whether or not these circumstances are known in advance
Being strategic means
 Being clear about the organization's objectives,
 Being aware of the organization's resources
 Incorporating both into being consciously responsive to
a dynamic environment.
Strategy lies in making the tough decisions about what is
most important to achieving organizational success.
SETTING STRATEGIC DIRECTION:
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Explained
“If you consider
a strategic plan
merely a
working guide,
and not a
formal
document for
presentation
requiring
perfected
details, then
there is a higher
probability for
successful
implementation
”.
Planning
It involves intentionally setting goals (i.e.,
choosing a desired future) and developing an
approach to achieving those goals.
No less, than a set of decisions about what to
do, why to do it, and how to do it.
Impossible to do everything that needs to be
done
Implies that some decisions and actions are
more important than others
Planning is necessary if you want to avoid
wasted activity, and make your collective
efforts count.
SETTING STRATEGIC DIRECTION:
THE PLANNING PROCESS
“The prestrategic
planning stages
need to include
creative and
innovative
thinking. This
stage should be
one of exploring
possibilities
without
constraint, a
stimulating and
enjoyable part of
planning. Thus,
think new ideas,
explore them,
and align them
with the purpose
of the
organization”.
Basics
Begin with research
Gather existing information
Discover your human resources
Find Out what people want
Go to those in the know
Research Solutions from other sources
Generate ideas that will lead to your objective, then
decide which to carry forward.
SETTING STRATEGIC DIRECTION:
THE PLANNING PROCESS
“Strategic
planning for
organizations is
not considered
fun. Strategic
planning is often
done under
duress because it
is required.
Strategic
planning is
important yet
many such plans
are found on
bookcases, not
on the desktops
being used”.
Basics
Create an action plan
An ordered list of tasks to complete: persons
responsible; time-frame; resources required, including
materials; facilities and funds.
Keep action plans flexible so you can respond to the
unexpected.
Identify priorities and evaluate them
Act more, meet less. Keep time demands
modest
SETTING STRATEGIC DIRECTION: NEXT
STEPS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS
“Strategic
planning for
organizations is
not considered
fun. Strategic
planning is often
done under
duress because it
is required.
Strategic
planning is
important yet
many such plans
are found on
bookcases, not
on the desktops
being used”.
Phase I: The Strategic Plan Document
Finalization of the document



Incorporate a vision/mission and core value
statements of the Commission.
Goals and strategic objectives setting.
Road Map-Strategic framework for actualizing
the ECOWAS Commission mission in syn with
the ECOWAS Vision.
Verbalization and incorporation of the essential text
of CDP, MTP, CBP, CP.
Indicate an implementation framework, including
the financing plan.
SETTING STRATEGIC DIRECTION: NEXT
STEPS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS
“Depending
upon your
experience of
strategic
planning, you
either hate
strategic
planning and
think it is a
waste of your
time or you
think it's a
great tool for
organizationa
l alignment
and goal
setting”.
Phase II: The Planning and Programming
System
Specification of the programs, projects, and activities.
Costing of the programs and projects.
Alignment of derived action plans with the budgetary
framework.
Development of indicators for implementation, outputs,
and outcomes.
Communication and Implementation Plan.
Institutional arrangement and responsibilities.
Instituting strategic planning in the rest of ECOWAS
Institutions.
Development of the ICT Infrastructure and links to the
MIS.
The Planning Cycle
Activity Report
Year+1 (March)
Mid-year
Execution Report
Year (September)
Management
Priority/Strategic
Initiatives
Year-1 July
Annual Activity
Plan (Based on
MTP)
Year-1 (October)
Draft Budget
Program
Year-1 August
Annual Budget
Year-1 (November)
Implementation
Plan--Retreat
Year-1 (December)
21 March 2016
16
“Planners do
not have
authority to
make
commitments,
nor do they
have managers'
access to that
"soft"
information
critical to
strategy
making”.
Management Committee is committed to the
following:
Taking Ownership of the Strategic Plan
Setting Management Priorities/Strategic
Initiatives
Reviewing the Annual Budget
Implementation Plan Retreat
Review the Mid-Execution Report
FINAL NOTES
“The colleagues
and subordinates
with "planning"
either in their
title or in their
assigned
responsibilities
should act as
described. They
should not be
told, "Draft the
plan." Such
commandments
usually result in
another
document for the
archives”.
Appreciating the difference between planning and
strategic thinking, makes it is possible for
Management to return to what the strategy-making
process should be: "capturing what the management
learns from all sources and then synthesizing that
learning into a vision of the direction that the
organization should go.
Planners should:
 Supply the data that strategic thinking requires
 Act as catalysts who support strategy-making by
aiding and encouraging managers to think
strategically, and should help specify the
implementation steps needed to carry out the
strategic vision.
 Function as strategy finders, analysts, and
catalysts.
THANK YOU
MERCI
OBRIGADO