Step 4 – Evaluation

I think it's important at this point to offer a little reality check where strategic plans are concerned. There's a line taken from the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come." The truth is…they won't. It takes more than just creating a strategic plan for people to use it. People have to understand WIIFM (what's in it for me) before they will embrace it.

Here's an example of how WIIFM can impact an organization: a company builds a robust repository of information for employees to use. It contains information such as the company phone directory, how to apply for a leave of absence, and the annual holiday schedule. It's great because all of the information is online and accessible anytime. But employees don't use it. Why? Well, there could be several reasons:

• No one knew it existed

• It's easier just to walk around the corner and ask someone

• The system has a lot of information but it's not updated regularly

• Information located in one section of the system doesn...