Strategy is Clever-Clever Planning on Purpose
Strategy is Clever-Clever Planning on Purpose
Strategy is Clever-Clever Planning on Purpose
Strategy is Clever-Clever Planning on Purpose
For organizations and individuals — strategic planning facilitates reaching the highest and best goals — fulfilling their ultimate purpose. In its purest form, strategy starts with clear purpose and vision in order to deploy assets — strengths and means — toward the intended targets to achieve the mission.
Strategy is a clever-clever plan to use strengths and assets to accomplish the needs at hand.
For organizations and individuals — strategic planning facilitates reaching the highest and best goals — fulfilling their ultimate purpose.
In its purest form, strategy starts with clear purpose and vision in order to deploy assets — strengths and means — toward the intended targets to achieve the mission.
Purpose, Vision, and Mission
Great organizations thrive on purpose and have a collective vision for where they want to go and who they want to serve. Great organizations have a mission to help others flourish and to meet the needs of the world.
Purpose-based organizations with strong vision focus their mission on providing the most useful outputs for others — not on collecting inputs for themselves. Purpose-based organizations exist to serve all stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors, suppliers, and communities.
It’s not easy to do the best for all stakeholders simultaneously, but strategic planning is an incredible aid for this aim.
Deploy Strengths
Organizational strengths and advantages are meant to be deployed for the needs of the world. Strengths and advantages can include inventions or discoveries – even patents, trademarks, and intellectual property.
People are always an organization's greatest strength, and the most enduring organizations care for employees first. When an organization focuses on the needs of employees and helps each person develop their gifts, the result is a strong culture.
For many mission-based organizations, their culture — the aggregate gifts of their people — is the greatest asset to deploy.
Utilize Means
Means and resources are things that are neutral and inanimate but are utilized— extracted or leveraged to further the mission. Means and resources can include assets like money, land, buildings, technology, supplies, time, and other resources.
Many of these, like natural resources and technology, can be developed into even greater assets by the organization.
Money, the most common means, is meant to be utilized for the greatest good instead of being an aim or end goal of the organization.
Should Score Be Kept?
If metrics matter — and most of us believe they do — they are helpful to guide organizations. The most important metrics are focused on outputs not inputs.
Revenue, profit, and shareholder value are important if the organization wants to stay in business, but those metrics are mostly organization-centered and are lagging metrics. Leading metrics come right from the mission and are focused on the output and activity that lead to flourishing for people or the world.
His Will Be Done
Followers of Jesus have a distinct advantage when it comes to purpose, vision, mission, and strategy to serve the world.
The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.” - [.no-reftag]Isaiah 14:24[.no-reftag]
God is a planner. God’s plan for glory included sending Jesus at just the right time to pay the penalty for our sins, making peace with God and us by the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20).
We are not accidents. Those who belong to Jesus were chosen before God formed the world, and everything – everything – is working together (Romans 8:28) to bring us closer to God.
God has made clear what we need in order to lead organizations well:
Purpose — we have been given a perfectly clear purpose. Our role is to use everything we have been given — talents, gifts, relationships, experiences, assets, business — toward the glory of God.
For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. - [.no-reftag]Romans 11:36[.no-reftag]
Vision - We have been given the most inspiring vision. We see how all of those who love God finish in the end. We should have a short-term view to help people thrive now, in a way that facilitates them thriving forever.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” - [.no-reftag]Revelation 21:1-4[.no-reftag]
Mission — We have been given the opportunity to join in the life-giving mission. Jesus does not need us, but He chose us to join Him in the mission to bring people to Himself. What a high calling! And He is with us as we are on mission. What a promise!
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 28:18-20[.no-reftag]
Strategy - We have been given the greatest strategic guide. God’s word makes clear everything we need to know to align our strengths, advantages, and resources — individually and collectively — toward His will.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:10[.no-reftag]
Now, let's go put everything — all our strengths, advantages, assets, and means — toward one thing. Let’s make clever-clever plans for the good of others and the glory of God!
Useful Links:
Article: "Something's Gotta Change"
Video: "Strategy Part 1 | What do you have?"
Video: "Strategy Part 2 | Change Just in Time"
Article: Business Is Provision For People
Article: The Gift Of Vision
Strategy is a clever-clever plan to use strengths and assets to accomplish the needs at hand.
For organizations and individuals — strategic planning facilitates reaching the highest and best goals — fulfilling their ultimate purpose.
In its purest form, strategy starts with clear purpose and vision in order to deploy assets — strengths and means — toward the intended targets to achieve the mission.
Purpose, Vision, and Mission
Great organizations thrive on purpose and have a collective vision for where they want to go and who they want to serve. Great organizations have a mission to help others flourish and to meet the needs of the world.
Purpose-based organizations with strong vision focus their mission on providing the most useful outputs for others — not on collecting inputs for themselves. Purpose-based organizations exist to serve all stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors, suppliers, and communities.
It’s not easy to do the best for all stakeholders simultaneously, but strategic planning is an incredible aid for this aim.
Deploy Strengths
Organizational strengths and advantages are meant to be deployed for the needs of the world. Strengths and advantages can include inventions or discoveries – even patents, trademarks, and intellectual property.
People are always an organization's greatest strength, and the most enduring organizations care for employees first. When an organization focuses on the needs of employees and helps each person develop their gifts, the result is a strong culture.
For many mission-based organizations, their culture — the aggregate gifts of their people — is the greatest asset to deploy.
Utilize Means
Means and resources are things that are neutral and inanimate but are utilized— extracted or leveraged to further the mission. Means and resources can include assets like money, land, buildings, technology, supplies, time, and other resources.
Many of these, like natural resources and technology, can be developed into even greater assets by the organization.
Money, the most common means, is meant to be utilized for the greatest good instead of being an aim or end goal of the organization.
Should Score Be Kept?
If metrics matter — and most of us believe they do — they are helpful to guide organizations. The most important metrics are focused on outputs not inputs.
Revenue, profit, and shareholder value are important if the organization wants to stay in business, but those metrics are mostly organization-centered and are lagging metrics. Leading metrics come right from the mission and are focused on the output and activity that lead to flourishing for people or the world.
His Will Be Done
Followers of Jesus have a distinct advantage when it comes to purpose, vision, mission, and strategy to serve the world.
The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.” - [.no-reftag]Isaiah 14:24[.no-reftag]
God is a planner. God’s plan for glory included sending Jesus at just the right time to pay the penalty for our sins, making peace with God and us by the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20).
We are not accidents. Those who belong to Jesus were chosen before God formed the world, and everything – everything – is working together (Romans 8:28) to bring us closer to God.
God has made clear what we need in order to lead organizations well:
Purpose — we have been given a perfectly clear purpose. Our role is to use everything we have been given — talents, gifts, relationships, experiences, assets, business — toward the glory of God.
For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. - [.no-reftag]Romans 11:36[.no-reftag]
Vision - We have been given the most inspiring vision. We see how all of those who love God finish in the end. We should have a short-term view to help people thrive now, in a way that facilitates them thriving forever.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” - [.no-reftag]Revelation 21:1-4[.no-reftag]
Mission — We have been given the opportunity to join in the life-giving mission. Jesus does not need us, but He chose us to join Him in the mission to bring people to Himself. What a high calling! And He is with us as we are on mission. What a promise!
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 28:18-20[.no-reftag]
Strategy - We have been given the greatest strategic guide. God’s word makes clear everything we need to know to align our strengths, advantages, and resources — individually and collectively — toward His will.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:10[.no-reftag]
Now, let's go put everything — all our strengths, advantages, assets, and means — toward one thing. Let’s make clever-clever plans for the good of others and the glory of God!
Useful Links:
Article: "Something's Gotta Change"
Video: "Strategy Part 1 | What do you have?"
Video: "Strategy Part 2 | Change Just in Time"
Article: Business Is Provision For People
Article: The Gift Of Vision