This coming year, I’ll....

Life planning. Goal setting. Resolution making. Whatever you name it, the holiday season is a time for reflection on the right and wrong of the past year, and the planning of what will be different – and, presumably, better – for the 12 months to come.

Lose weight. Spend more time with my family. Finish that book I’ve been writing for the past three, six or 10 years. Personal resolutions generally focus on the “undone,” with the idea being that if we make a promise to ourselves, then we will fulfill it. But, as we all know, such promises often fall victim to schedule challenges, shifting priorities, or simply the lack of a plan.

Businesses have resolutions too, of course. They’re called strategic plans. And whether they are thick enough to fill a three-ring binder, or are a three-page summary of corporate Vision, Mission and Values, the objective is the same: Define where you want to go, what you need to do to get there, and what everyone’s responsibilities will be on the journey.

Now imagine for a moment that you made a resolution to learn to parasail, but you left it up to someone else to plan how that was going to happen...and that person neglected to tell you anything about the plan. Think you’d be ready to hop into the boat and head for open water with your parachute on?

Well, that’s exactly what companies do when they keep their strategic plans a deep dark secret from the very employees they’re counting on to make them happen. By expecting employees to just “trust” senior management’s Vision and planning acumen, businesses miss the opportunity to build a company full of zealots who understand, embrace and act upon that Vision.

How can you gain that kind of support from the very people you need to make your plan happen?

• Celebrate success (and shortcomings) strategically. In the current economic environment, you can’t lose by telling employees what went well and what fell short in the previous year. In doing so, don’t just drop a dry numbers presentation into a company newsletter. Instead, tie results to future plans. Show how you intend to take good news to the next level, and how you will fix trouble spots.
• Breathe life into your Values. For many employees, corporate Values are little more than a longhand version of such maxims as “Be good,” “Work hard,” and “Serve customers.” Common sense? Sure. Strategic? That’s a harder sell. So it’s wise to take every opportunity to demonstrate how company plans tie to company Values. At first, you’ll need to be rather direct, such as, “Our expansion in the Northwest territory is in line with our Value of...” Once employees see a pattern developing, you can be a little less direct.
• Give everyone a job to do. The task of translating the strategic plan into specific action steps usually falls to managers who, given their varied communication skills, can present different – and sometimes unintentionally contradictory – summaries of the company’s objectives. Help them out. Use company publications or other communication tools to share an overview of the plan and of everyone’s role in turning it into reality.

The message? Pull the plan down off the shelf, select the key passages you can share, and engage the energy, enthusiasm and imagination of your employees. It’ll increase your odds of having a Happy New Year.