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EFFECTIVE MONITORING & EVALUATION

Effectively Monitor & Evaluate Your Progress

Effective Monitoring & Evaluation is the final point of discussion in Part-3 (of our 3-Part series) of posts centered on establishing and implementing an effective Master Action Plan (M.A.P.). As you may recall, Part-1 focused on Strategic Planning, and Part-2 focused on Tactical Execution & Management. All three segments are essential components to the overall success of your M.A.P. As mentioned in our previous post, the three stages of an effective Master Action Plan include:

  • PART-1 – Strategic Planning
  • PART-2 – Tactical Execution & Management
  • PART-3 – Effective Monitoring & Evaluation

OVERVIEW:

Regardless of ones title or position in a firm, most of us will at some point have limited to extensive management oversight and responsibility. It is therefore necessary to apply effective monitoring and evaluation tools and techniques within a Master Action Plan in order to effectively monitor and evaluate progress. Whether it be a sole practitioner, Associate, Partner or an Office Managing Partner, effective monitoring and evaluation must take place. It becomes MOST CRITICAL, if you have management oversight over employees and/or over practice operations and its’ overall success; effective monitoring and evaluation of progress is essential.

Caution on Information Overload

That said, at GMS we have found that in today’s digital world, we are often times overwhelmed with data, data and more data. When it comes to effective monitoring and evaluation our progress, often times the software we use produces such immense amounts of data, that it can also become too granular for our specific needs. This can often result in that age-long saying that “We can’t see the forest through the trees”. We then risk becoming locked into becoming micromanagers in terms of data evaluation and management, when in fact we may also need to be macro managers as well. This is where the challenge of merging or balancing these two functions becomes both art and science.

HOW TO:

Effective Monitoring & Evaluation

Each Master Action Plan (M.A.P.) should be standardized in terms of establishing parameters for goals and objectives, yet be designed to meet the specific needs of each intended user, and to provide management with effective monitoring and oversight. For example, Summary pages may be utilized to provide management with just enough information to measure the resulting effectiveness and progress of those he/she has responsibility for in terms of management oversight and mentoring. Yet for the manager’s specific goals and objectives for themselves, their parameters should also be designed to accommodate the appropriate detail they specifically need to effectively monitor and evaluate their own individual progress. As you drill down to the front-line workers, their Master Action Plan should also be designed to accommodate their specific goals and objectives in a more granular fashion, yet have the flexibility built in for any management oversight they may have. So how do you accomplish this balance?

  1. Assess the organization’s need of a Master Action Plan that reflects their vision and goals for the short/medium/and long term.
  2. Assess the vision of the organization in terms of the number and type of staff needed to successfully operate their organization.
  3. Assess each employees specific responsibilities, management oversight, and the goals and objectives they need to achieve in accordance as to how their performance will ultimately be measured.
  4. Assess what information you need to effectively monitor and evaluate others without getting too granular.
  5. Assess what information you need to have, and how it will be monitored and evaluated for YOUR performance.
  6. Combine all the above into a Master Action Plan wish list.
  7. Then begin searching for an existing Master Action Plan that meets your needs or design your own in accordance to the above stated guidelines.

CONCLUSION:

It comes down to three choices

  1. You can research, design and implement your own solution. This is certainly a feasible option, but it also comes at a price too…or
  2. You can research what platforms exist in the marketplace that would meet your needs in terms of: templates, relevance of templates and content to support your business, supported with experienced consulting/ coaching/ and mentoring. This option comes at a price too…
  3. You can consider speaking with us about our M.A.P. solution. You’ll discover what’s included, the pricing, and whether it is the best fit for you and your organization.

Our M.A.P. Solution

This sounds self-serving to say this, but we have designed and provide a Master Action Plan solution that accomplishes all that we have discussed in these past three posts, including: Strategic Planning, Tactical Execution & Management, and Effective Monitoring & Evaluation. We designed our Master Action Plan solution not by accident, rather out of necessity, based on several decades of experience working for national and international business consulting firms, helping businesses and business professionals across various industries on planning how to meet their goals. Quite honestly, we found nothing in the marketplace that comes close to meeting our organization’s needs and the needs of our clients, as the solution we provide (by God’s grace and leadership.). Our solution is called “M.A.P.“…it’s our Master Action Plan. We have specifically designed 6 versions of our M.A.P. solution in order to meet the needs of:

  • Independent Lawyers
  • Lawyers within Law Firms (Associates to Partners)
  • Law Firms (for Managing Partners)
  • Non-Profit Organizations (Presidents & CEO’s of Schools/Universities/Foundations etc.)
  • For-Profit Organizations (Corporate CEO’s / Presidents)
  • Entrepreneurs

Lastly, keep in mind that having Master Action Plan templates are extremely important, but it’s really only half of the equation for having a successful Master Action Plan. The other half of the equation is found in the quality of experience and the support provided by mentoring/ guiding/ and coaching clients throughout the process. From planning and strategy, to completion and implementation and from monitoring to evaluation. This is how an ordinary business plan becomes a successful, effective and powerful Master Action Plan. We have the M.A.P. solution, and we know every business and business professional has the need of one (whether they realize it or not!). The questions are: 1) Do you see your need of one, and 2) Are you ready for one? So once again, you have three choices…

As we always say, do your own research, if you’d like to…speak with us, great. If not, that’s ok too. Either way, you’ll put yourself in a better position to make a better informed decision… regardless of the choice you make. We’re here to help our clients and prospective clients, not to hassle them. We hope you have found our last three posts to be helpful and insightful.

GMS BUSINESS CONSULTING, INC. – Provides lawyers/law firms, for-profit & non-profit organizations, and other business professionals with Accounting Services, Business Development Services M.A.P., Business Optimization Services, and Digital Marketing Services. We help business professionals strategically manage and tactically grow their businesses more effectively and efficiently.  We do NOT provide investment advice.  Contact Us  if you are interested in learning more about our services, and in particular about M.A.P. (our 3-phase business development & management solution), designed to help you strategically manage and tactically grow your business.  We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

info@gmsbusinessconsulting.com

707-218-3135

GMS Business Consulting No Comments

TACTICAL EXECUTION & MANAGEMENT

TACTICAL EXECUTION & MANAGEMENT– is Part-2 in our 3-Part series for creating an effective and successful Master Action Plan. In our Part-1 post, we addressed the essential starting point and purpose of Strategic Planning. Today’s post addresses the need for Tactical Execution & Management to reach your goals and objectives that were established in your Strategic Planning. As mentioned in our previous post, the three stages of an effective Master Action Plan include:

  • PART-1 – Strategic Planning
  • PART-2 – Tactical Execution & Management
  • PART-3 – Effective Monitoring & Evaluation

PART-2 – TACTICAL EXECUTION & MANAGEMENT:

Tactical Execution & Management is the critical component to achieving the goals and objectives in your Master Action Plan. Without Tactical Execution & Management , your strategic planning becomes just wishful thoughts and dreams. Also, bear in mind, that if Strategic Planning is where successful results begin, then Tactical Execution & Management determines how your results will end…either in success or failure.

So, once you have completed the Strategic Planning phase within your Master Action Plan, and have identified your key goals and objectives, then you need to apply Tactical Execution & Management by:

  • Establishing Action Steps for each Goal
  • Prioritizing the Action Steps for each Goal
  • Assigning responsibility for each Action Step to the person/ team or group to complete.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS:

We’ve established that Tactical Execution & Management is essential, and this needs to be approached and implemented in a systematic, disciplined, and practical manner. Below are a few “Essential Elements” to Tactical Execution & Management based on our Best Practices approach:

  1. ACTION STEPS – These need to be identified, documented and prioritized in a sequential order as they need to enable the person/ team/ group to progress from one Action Step to another. If this is not done, then your progress for completion may become delayed, disjointed, and may ultimately result in a failed goal or objective. A most simple yet illustrative example is; that each Action Step must be prioritized in a specific order…just as it would be essential in teaching a child to tie his/her shoe. One mis-aligned step in the process, and the results are clear. Yet when Action Steps are properly identified, documented, prioritized and completed, these result in a progressive process towards achieving your goals and objectives.
  2. DEADLINE/BENCHMARK DATES – All Action Steps must have established deadlines or benchmark dates. Without deadline dates, there is no sense of urgency, commitment, need of completion nor the ability to move forward in a progressive manner to the next Action Step. By establishing and adhering to deadline dates, progress is made, and the next step can be engaged in a logical and methodical manner.
  3. ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY – All Action Steps must be assigned to someone responsible for completing the task. The assignment of an Action Step to an individual places the responsibility for completing a specific task by a certain date. Assigning personal responsibility establishes participation, responsibility and accountability. Assignment of responsibility also provides the evidence of performance in how we gauge and measure an individual’s contribution and value to a group or organization, and is linked to the overall success or failure in achieving the stated goals and objectives.
  4. PRIORITIZATION OF IMPORTANCE – Each Action Step must be prioritized in terms of importance to achieving the stated goal. Prioritization also aids the individual responsible for completing the task by providing scheduling guidance, whether it should be high or low on their list of other tasks they may be accountable for. Given that there could be many Goals and related Action Steps in a Master Action Plan, both must be prioritized in terms of their importance and timeliness of completion in order to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.
  5. STATUS OF COMPLETION – Each Action Step must be monitored with a status of completion. Designating whether an Action Step is completed (with either a “Yes/No/IP” (In process) status), allows management evaluate and measure their progress. This status benchmark must be used to monitor the progress of the designated individual, team or group as to whether they have been successful in completing the specified and assigned Action Step in a timely manner.

CONCLUSION:

As stated earlier, without Tactical Execution & Management, your Strategic Planning becomes nothing more than an exercise in listing dormant and unfulfilled dreams. We would never want that to happen to you or to any of our clients. That’s why we developed the M.A.P. solution.

The M.A.P. solution that GMS Business Consulting, Inc provides, delivers all you need for Strategic Planning and Tactical Execution & Management for you and your organization, each and every year. M.A.P. is a strategic and tactical Master Action Plan that sits above all your business operating platforms, time and billing platforms, sales & marketing platforms, inventory control platforms, communications platforms, and data storage and recovery platforms. Those are all “COMPONENTS” within your M.A.P. All of those platforms may change, merge, be substituted or disappear each year. Your M.A.P. solution will provide the strategic evaluation and planning along with the tactical execution and management for all facets of our organization, year after year. Our M.A.P. solution helps you to define your vision, how to establish a strategic plan to achieve your vision, and then how to successfully implement and manage the action steps necessary to meet your goals and objectives for your organization. This is your road M.A.P. to your success.

All businesses should have a M.A.P. to guide, direct, execute and monitor its vision and progress. Contact Us if you have any questions or if we can help you to Strategically Plan and Tactically Execute & Manage your business with success and piece of mind.

Our next Post (Part-3), will focus on Effective Monitoring and Evaluation. See you in a couple weeks. Have a successful and blessed week.

GMS BUSINESS CONSULTING, INC. – Provides lawyers/law firms, for-profit & non-profit organizations, and other business professionals with Accounting Services, Business Development Services (M.A.P.), Business Optimization Services, and Digital Marketing Services. We help business professionals strategically manage and tactically grow their businesses more effectively and efficiently.  We do NOT provide investment advice.  Contact Us  if you are interested in learning more about our services, and in particular about M.A.P. (our 3-phase business development & management solution), designed to help you strategically manage and tactically grow your business.  We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

info@gmsbusinessconsulting.com

707-218-3135