76. 5T SMART Plan

Key Definitions

Strategy is the course of action being followed and is usually shaped by three types of aims: a long-term aim called a strategic vision (also called a horizon 3 goal, typically 5-10 years into the future), some mid-term aims called strategic objectives (horizon 2 goals, typically 2-3 years out) and multiple short-term aims called strategic targets (horizon 1 goals, 6-12 months out).

Ideally, when setting an intended strategy, people should think future-back, first formulating their vision and objectives as a big picture and then filling in the targets that need to be reached in the shorter term, along with a detailed plan of action. To know what to do, such a plan should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-bound.

Conceptual Model

The 5T SMART Plan template offers a one-page framework for detailing each strategic objective in an organization’s big picture strategy. It asks the user to identify at most five strategic targets that need to be realized for each strategic objective, followed by the required key actions, people involved and timing of each action and some measure by which progress towards the target can be tracked. As such, the 5T SMART Plan is more detailed and tangible than the widely used OGSM (Objectives-Goals-Strategies-Measures) framework, while it also avoids the confusion of using the word “strategies” incorrectly.

Key Elements

The six categories of the template are the following:

1. Strategic Objective. Based on the overarching strategic vision (see Meyer’s Management Models #56), every strategy should identify a limited number of strategic objectives to be pursued in the coming 2-3 years. These core pillars of an organization’s strategy are also called strategic guidelines or must-win battles. For each, a template should be completed.
2. Targets. Just as the vision needs to be broken down into shorter-term objectives, each objective needs to be broken down into even shorter-term targets – typically goals to be reached in the coming 6-12 months. The template only provides room for a maximum of five targets, to force the setting of priorities, but in practice extra targets can be added.
3. Tasks. The targets in turn need to be broken down into tangible actions that need to be taken in the short run. Again, the limited room in the template is intended to force the user to prioritize the key actions and to avoid drawing up an overly detailed blueprint. Of course, in a follow-up template, an even more fine-grained planning can be created if necessary.
4. Team. For each of the tasks it needs to be determined which people will be involved and in what type of capacity – lead, contributor or supervisor. By completing this part of the template, it will become clear where people bottlenecks show up and teams need to be reshuffled, new people need to be recruited, or tasks need to be delayed to a later moment.
5. Timing. Based on the assessment of the required task and team, it can be determined when each activity should start and how long each should take. Again, while the logic of the template flows from left to right, sometimes timing-issues will force a few iterations, going back to adjust the team or the tasks to the demands of timing.
6. Tracking. Finally, to complete the plan-do-check-act cycle, it is important to have some measures of how well the “doing” is going. Therefore, for each task some indicator needs to be identified for tracking execution (progress check), while another indicator might be required to review whether the intended target is being realized (result check).

Key Insights

• Strategy needs to be operationalized. Most strategy formulation exercises result in a big picture strategy document, focusing on the broad sweep of the strategic direction, including a strategic vision and some strategic objectives. The lurking danger is that this high-level strategy is not made SMART enough for people in the organization to know what to do.
• Strategy needs a tree of goals. An internally consistent strategy should be designed from the future back like a tree diagram of goals. A strategy should start with one long-term goal, the strategic vision, as the tree trunk, that then branches out into a few mid-term goals, the strategic objectives. These in turn should each branch out into several short-term goals, the strategic targets, that then branch out into various tasks. The closer one gets to the current moment, the more numerous and detailed all the branches will be.
• Strategic planning requires determining five Ts. Detailing these branches is a large part of the strategic planning process. For each of the main branches (strategic objectives) a 5T template should be completed, specifying the sub-branches (targets) and sub-sub-branches (tasks), followed by determining who should be involved (team), when activities should be carried out (timing) and which way progress should be measured (tracking).
• Strategic planning requires iterations. While the logic of the 5T template is from left to right, in practice there will be many moments at which various branches of the tree will be at odds with each other, either by pushing in conflicting directions or more often by making use of the same scarce resources. Therefore, the planning process will often go through multiple iterations to achieve alignment between the parts.
• It’s time to retire OGSM. For many years people have used the OGSM framework, defining Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Measures, leaving out the key factors of team and timing, and confusingly calling tasks “strategies”. It’s time for an update.