20

Think Beyond the Horizon

I have had a lot of people work for me over the course of time. They have been very busy men and women. I know that because typically I gave them lots to do. These were people in the public sector as well as those in not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. They were the kinds of work environments where you didn’t have time to watch the clock and the day slipped by before you could get everything done. You stayed busy but had a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

Having grown up in the army, I was taught well that you need to prepare not just for the inevitable but for the unexpected. That’s why there are war plans before there are wars. It was ingrained in me to think strategically about most things. You don’t necessarily need to have been in the military to think this way, but if it becomes part of your DNA, you will be better prepared for most things in your personal and professional lives.

If your boss doesn’t tell you that you have some responsibility to think beyond the moment, or as I call it, look beyond the horizon for potential destinations, you need to do that for the boss. You should be asking what organizational interests are at stake for what lies ahead. What is the purpose and what proposed actions need to be taken to achieve those interests? What costs are involved? What resources are needed? What is the desired outcome? You should be making an honest appraisal of the landscape as it exists today but also of how it is likely to look tomorrow.

One way to do these things is to have a strategic management process. That consists of strategic thinking and strategic planning. They are not one and the same, but they are both essential in any thoughtful strategy-making process.

Strategic thinking comes first and is done by connecting the past, the present, and the future in ways that allow for creativity and the invention of ideas, the what-ifs of life, if you will.

Strategic planning converts these ideas into programmatic actions built on analysis and designed intent: the then-whats of life. For the boss, this could make an important contribution to a grand strategy, which is a collection of plans and policies to advance the organization’s interests.

There are ample examples of unexpected or unpleasant things that can happen in any organizational life: a financial downturn, a necessary layoff, a product recall, a malevolent act. Any of these things could happen at any point in time. If trends start to develop or hints of crisis surface, you need to be prepared. It’s too late if the doors blow off at 2 p.m. and you aren’t ready to respond.

Many of the routine staff meetings you have should end up being brainstorming sessions in anticipation of or in response to events that occur. When the boss goes around the table asking questions or wanting suggestions, it’s a cerebral moment for which you need and want to be prepared. If you are a regular victim of those dreaded staff meetings, come armed. Have at your fingertips well-reasoned, thoughtful advice for the boss or any other person at the table who seeks it.

For me the world of strategic thinking and planning came alive in January 1997 when Colin Powell agreed to chair a summit in Philadelphia. It was called the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future. All living presidents and first ladies with the exception of President Reagan, who was unable to attend because of health issues, were in attendance. Convened in Philadelphia that April, the summit was designed to draw attention to the some 15 million “at-risk youth in America.” An astronomical number! Something needed to be done. The summit assembled members of Congress, governors, corporate and not-for-profit executives, religious leaders, educators, and philanthropists. It drew the attention of 1,400 reporters, not just from the United States but from around the world, who covered the event.

The attendees met for three days and discussed among themselves how they could help: what they should do and how they could do it. Powell agreed to chair an organization that was the outgrowth of this seminal event, and all seemed fine until the general and I returned to our offices in Virginia after the summit. He asked me, “What do we do now, Smullen?” There was no blueprint or model or example of what to do and how to do it. As his chief of staff, my goal was to help raise some money, hire a staff, build out some office space, and develop a strategic plan. It was by far the most challenging but most exciting opportunity one could ask for.

We created an organization from whole cloth. We called it America’s Promise—The Alliance for Youth. We found ways to bring resources into the lives of young Americans: a healthy start, a safe space, mentoring relationships, educational components, and volunteer opportunities for kids. Damned if it didn’t work. We got tons of help from companies such as Allstate Insurance, whose 53,000 employees at the time were asked to volunteer and become involved in the lives of youth. They did just that and made a difference by becoming coaches, tutors, mentors, and caring adults in as many ways as possible.

Did this take strategic thinking and strategic planning? Of course. Was it without difficulty? Of course not. But we moved the needle when it came to taking kids off the at-risk road of life and putting them on the successful highways of life.

I didn’t get day-to-day guidance from the boss, but I gave him day-to-day progress reports. As chairman, General Powell used to call himself the Johnny Appleseed of America’s Promise, and I came to think of myself as a planter of many of those seeds.