Original article from the Flevy business blog can be found here: http://flevy.com/blog/strategy-development-and-deployment-with-hoshin-planning/ People and their managers are working so hard to be sure things are done right, that they hardly have time to decide if they are doing the right things. - Stephen R. Covey Strategy is an expression of what an organization intents to do to get from a current state to a future state. Strategic plans are often developed in isolation and rarely aligned across an organization. As a result, the organization’s strategy and strategic objectives are not well defined, are not well communicated and do not impact day-to-day decision making. Our Strategy Planning and Deployment Process, using Strategy Maps and Hoshin Kanri, provides an organization with simple and effective methods and tools to develop, communicate and align its business objectives, strategic initiatives, operating plans, targets and goals. A Strategy Map is a logical framework for identifying and organizing a collection of initiatives and activities, that support a specific Strategic Focus Area and Objective, over the four Balanced Scorecard dimensions; Financials – Customers – Internal Business Processes – Learning & Growth. Everything is linked to capture and visualize the cause and effect relationships. To cascade each Strategy Map, interaction between the different level of an organization is necessary. This process is often called “catchball”, reflecting that all the participants in the process should be given the opportunity to “throw” ideas back and forth. An effective “catchball” process will result in well-defined and aligned action plans engaging the entire organization. The outcome of the “catchball” process is often documented and visualized using a Hoshin X-Matrix. You can learn more about Operational Excellence from the author’s training guides available on Flevy , including a free-of-charge presentation, An Introduction to Operational Excellence . Strategy Maps are also the foundation for building an effective Performance Management Systems and aligned Balanced Scorecards for the different levels of an organization.

1. Strategy Development and
Deployment with Hoshin Planning
Contributed by Frank Adler on January 27, 2015 in Strategy, Marketing, & Sales
People and their managers are working so hard to be sure
things are done right, that they hardly have time to decide
if they are doing the right things. - Stephen R. Covey
Strategy is an expression of what an organization intents to
do to get from a current state to a future state.
Strategic plans are often developed in isolation and rarely
aligned across an organization. As a result, the organization’s strategy and strategic
objectives are not well defined, are not well communicated and do not impact day-to-day
decision making.

2. Our Strategy Planning and Deployment Process, using Strategy Maps and Hoshin Kanri,
provides an organization with simple and effective methods and tools to develop,
communicate and align its business objectives, strategic initiatives, operating plans, targets
and goals.
A Strategy Map is a logical framework for identifying and organizing a collection of
initiatives and activities, that support a specific Strategic Focus Area and Objective, over the
four Balanced Scorecard dimensions; Financials – Customers – Internal Business Processes
– Learning & Growth. Everything is linked to capture and visualize the cause and effect
relationships.
To cascade each Strategy Map, interaction between the different level of an organization is
necessary. This process is often called “catchball”, reflecting that all the participants in the
process should be given the opportunity to “throw” ideas back and forth. An effective
“catchball” process will result in well-defined and aligned action plans engaging the entire
organization. The outcome of the “catchball” process is often documented and visualized
using a Hoshin X-Matrix.
You can learn more about Operational Excellence from the author’s training guides available on Flevy , including a
free-of-charge presentation, An Introduction to Operational Excellence .

3. Strategy Maps are also the foundation for building an effective Performance Management
Systems and aligned Balanced Scorecards for the different levels of an organization.
A well-defined, methodical and disciplined review process and the deployment of Process
Excellence Solutions, including Lean Management, Six Sigma, Business Process
Development and Problem Solving, will ensure that progress toward the Strategic
Breakthrough Objectives is made and that any risks and roadblocks are identified and
resolved in a timely manner.

4. About Frank Adler
Frank Adler co-founded Operational Excellence Consulting (OEC) in 2009 to follow his passion for
Operational Excellence and to be able to work with individuals and organizations that share this passion.
He has over 20 years of international executive leadership experience in General Management, multi-site
Operations & Supply Chain Management, Quality & Customer Support Management, and Operational
Excellence & Lean Six Sigma. View more of OEC's materials on Flevy here , including training guides
and free downloads.

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