Strategy Survival Guide

Strategy Survival Guide Version 2.1
Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit
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Strategy Development > Strategic Direction Setting > Management Issues
Project Management
The project management plan should be reviewed and revised in response to any changes in priorities,
milestones, or meeting dates. Initial thought should also be given to the project end game. For example, how
the final report will be produced and communicated.
People Management
Team roles, responsibilities and workstreams should continue to be monitored and progress assessed. It
may be an appropriate time for informal mid-project appraisals and to seek feedback from the team.
This is also the time to start thinking about whether any changes are required to the composition of the team.
For example, to bring in more policy-oriented team members who can start working up policy options in order
to achieve the strategic direction being identified. Involving representatives of delivery agencies will also help
to ensure strategy is grounded in front line reality and help to secure buy-in. At this stage in the project it may
be useful to have another team-building event, particularly if there are new team members coming on board.
Stakeholder Management
Continued active management of stakeholders will be required. In particular, it is important to unpack the
meaning of ‘we’ when asking "where do we want to be?". Many initiatives fail because ‘we’ is assumed to be
clear. However, different elements in government, the public sector and private sector will have different
ideas. It is therefore fundamental to confirm that there is a clear and united ‘we’ at this stage.
In particular, at this stage in the project it will be important to meet with stakeholders to discuss emerging
strategic options. This will enable agreement to the proposed option to be secured, and also to test how
radical the subsequent policy recommendations can be. It is important that the analysis is presented clearly
and logically, with a compelling story. The storyboarding technique can be of assistance when preparing
presentations. The stakeholder management plan should be revisited and revised according to any
changes in stakeholder support or influence.
Communications Management
The communications plan should also be reviewed and revised in the light of any changes. Communications
during the phase should be evaluated to identify any problems and lessons learned. Thought should also
start to be given to how to communicate the project outputs at the end of the project.
Useful links:
> managing people and the project
> managing stakeholders & communications
Strategy Survival Guide – Strategy Development
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