After years of focusing on the quarterly results, investors are beginning to ask for additional information such as: What are your long-term plans? And what is your contribution of society?
While this shift in investors’ emphasis may have surprised a few people, I don’t think their request is unreasonable.
I will devote a future post to the topic of contributions to society.
In this post, I want to focus on long-term planning. More specifically, on the importance of leaders being able to establish a clear, ambitious vision for the organization and achieve it with a multi-year plan.
A compelling vision of the future
One of the leader’s most important jobs is to dream big and create a vision of the future that is so compelling people will want to be a part of achieving it.
People don’t just want to come in to work. They want to be a part of something special, something they can look back on and say, “I had something to do with making that happen.”
So, by describing your big dream you are not only challenging them with objectives but also you’re challenging them to give their best.
In my experience, when you put together a talented team of people who are energized by a common vision, and you give them a multi-year plan showing how to reach it, nothing gets in their way.
In fact, in many cases I’ve seen teams far exceeded anything they thought possible.
A compass to help you navigate
But a plan on a shelf is not enough.
I can almost guarantee it: As soon as you finish developing a long-range plan you will have to adjust it because of changes brought on by competition, technology, consumer behavior, taxes and regulations.
What’s more, in today’s fast-paced environment these modifications need to be made at the speed of change. Without a long-term plan guiding you to your goal, rapid changes could steer you off course.
The bottom-line is this: What matters is not having a plan on a shelf. Rather, what matters is having a planning process that allows adjust for change while getting you closer every day to the ultimate goal.
A successful multi-year integration
Let me share a personal experience with multi-year planning.
I was the chief operating officer of Cingular Wireless when I was charged with leading the integration of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless in the largest all-cash merger ($41 billion) in U.S. wireless history.
Integrating the two companies took us three years, just as we had planned. Along the way there were hundreds if not thousands of short-term goals that we had to meet. Not to mention a myriad of adjustments along the way as competitors tried to take advantage of our massive changes to throw us off course.
But our team was energized by the long-term vision of becoming a leader in the U.S. wireless industry, and delivered the short- and long-term goals.
We exceeded all the targets and made history by completing what still ranks as the largest and most successful large-scale merger in the U.S. wireless industry.
Flexing your long-term planning muscle
Now, don’t think for a moment that the change in investors’ expectations applies only to organizations.
It applies to you as an individual, as well.
As companies feel the pressure to present their long-term plans to investors, senior leaders are going to be looking for upcoming leaders who have those skills.
I’ve always looked for people who, when given a new assignment, not only deliver the short-term results but do so consistently with moving along the long-term goals.
Those are the people I’ve always kept on my radar screen because I know they will be the future leaders of the company.
In fact, I always believed that if you are trying to test young executives, you never give them an assignment that they can achieve in six months or a year. It’s better to see them over at least a two-year period so you know they are not compromising long-range goals in order to deliver short-term results.
So, if you are a young executive looking to move up the executive ranks and gain experience in running operations, my strong advice is that you focus on both the short- and the long-term goals. Don’t trade one for the other.
Yes, long-term planning matters
So, let’s go back to my initial question of whether organizations should be willing to provide more information about their plans to their investors.
Not everyone agrees this is a good thing but I say, what could be wrong? This is what I’ve done throughout my career, and it has served me and my organizations well.
As a leader, your job is to focus your organization on big goals and create plans that will ensure the sustainability of the business. That will give investors confidence that you are aiming for long-term success.
And, as an individual, your takeaway from this shift is that you must strengthen the ability to deliver both short- and long term goals.
And in ether case, you must define what is your contribution to society. More on that in my next post.
I look forward to your comments.
