More than ever, Federal Executives are under pressure to do more with less and to do it better. And, as we’ve previously explored, those efforts require Transformation. At least for truly break through performance. An area that top-performing Federal Executives explore but that often gets overlooked by most is the opportunity to identify, adapt and implement efficiency and innovation-related best practices from the Private Sector. Practices that, because they are proven, can help to identify new improvement opportunities, reduce implementation timelines and control risk created by trial-and-error.
Efficiency and innovation, two core tenets of Transformation, remain buzzwords in the Federal Government. But we’d argue that many Federal executives have been unsuccessful in leading efficiency or innovation programs. Our research with a cross-section of Federal executives and consultants providing efficiency and innovation services to them corroborates this. We don’t see a lack of desire to improve “business outcomes,” but rather a lack of incentive to bear the risk necessary to do so. This dynamic makes the Federal Government far more insular than it should be. Failing to consistently access and implement best practices from the Private Sector.
Outside of companies' Strategic Planning units, planning season is usually met with a collective groan. Why? Despite the snazzy charts they include and the always increasing revenue and declining cost forecasts, strategic planning processes and the plans they deliver consistently fail to produce results.
So how do you make certain you're plans have the best chances of success? Make sure they don't suffer from one of the following key pitfalls.
Recently, the CEO of an award-winning craft brewery told us they weren’t interested in thinking about their growth strategy because, in their words, finding ways to drive top-line gains wasn’t their main concern. You see, they'd been growing at a tremendous clip for the last several years and believed the party was unlikely to end anytime soon. From our perspective, this represents a dangerously short-term view on the world, one that ignores the challenge every industry and every participant in it eventually faces. What’s the old adage? Make hay while the sun shines.
