We had just spent two days hashing out the strategic plan. Everyone was picking up their notes, collecting their stuff and packing for a quick exit.

“Whoa, Nellie,” I said. “I know it seems like we have done a lot of work, but there is one more important task. How are we going to tell the troops?”

Most planning meetings lay out the strategy and action calendar, but often, there is no communication plan to tell the rest of the company.

Add one last item on your agenda. Figure out who is going to tell the team, what to tell them, when to tell them and how to tell them.

It’s relatively difficult for team members to execute your brilliant strategic plan when they don’t know the details. -TF