Arch Empathy: 5 Step Strategic Planning Framework
Step 1: The Tension & The Vision
Before you can jump into spitballing solutions, revising your schedule, and taking on the world, you have to stop, take a beat, and breathe for a minute. Feel the tension of what's currently going on. Then you can tap into the possibilities of what an ideal situation could be.
How Do You Feel?
How does your current situation of to-do lists and meetings after meetings feel? Overwhelmed, tense, panicked, like giving up… like throwing up? Get in your feels and find out where that tension is and which tasks are inducing it.
Is your communication with team members last-minute? Or your attempts at getting input seem to run off the rails?
When you stop to breathe and take stock of the tension you feel, what is causing it? Where are you feeling the most tension from?
This might sound something like, “I acknowledge that I feel overwhelmed. My shoulders are tense, and my heart rate is elevated. The place I am currently is not working and far from where I want to be. I feel like I’m drowning when I want to be surfing.”
By taking a moment to get a sense of what’s current, you can identify the problem, because sometimes the problem has a simple solution, but when you are in such a state of overwhelm that everything feels like a big problem that needs a big solution.
On the other side of this coin is the vision of what the end result might look like. When you have the end result in mind of what your goal looks like, you can hold that vision and match it up to your plan. It helps you better see what actions today will serve that end result later.
In other words, you shouldn't try to solve the problem until you know what the problem is and what it will look like once it's solved.
Why? For starters, there are a ton of solutions, but you can't always tell which solution is the right solution unless you have an end result to compare it to. You need to see the result you’re seeking.
Step 2: Reworking It & Claim It
Now that you've acknowledged the tension between where you are with the work and where you want to be with it, it’s time to go from a short-order cook to a visionary chef. Let’s get cooking…
First, create your buckets for your work. To bucket your work, come up with a few categories and start putting your tasks in the bucket most appropriate for them. Don't do more than five and don't think too hard - just make sure they are distinct from one another.
Take that weekly meeting that is stressing you out. Maybe that goes in the “High Energy Requirements Tasks” bucket because you find it so draining. Or maybe it’s in a “Meetings” bucket because it’s, well, a meeting.
Your categories can be whatever you want them to be and whatever feels most aligned with your tasks.
Then, write out a statement about what you want its future state to look like. The statement that may go with that formerly dreaded meeting could be, “Monthly strategy meeting that eliminates the need for a weekly meeting,” or “Weekly meeting that feels productive and fun.”
Basically, you are reworking your to-do list or the original scope of your work and then putting them into statements that illustrate its future state.
This gets your mindset on what you're working towards (the why, what it looks and feels like, and evidence of it becoming reality), rather than tasks.
At this point in my 5-step process, you've gone from overwhelmed to excited and clear about what you’re working towards.
Step 3: Identifying Blocks
The next step in converting a pile of tasks into a shining set of strategies is to identify the blocks.
Now that you are clear on where you are and where you want to be, it’s time to get a magnifying glass and figure out what will prevent you from getting there. This is yet another two-sided coin. What are the blocks to your vision, AND are there any blocks to your ability to work around them?
One of the most common barriers to changing the way you work is the safety you feel in the overwhelming pile of tasks because it’s familiar, therefore, safer.
That’s not the only block you may find in identifying the things that may get in the way of seeing these results.
Other Examples:
Other projects that demand your time and focus
Lack of clarity around the work
Learning gaps
Things outside your control
Distractions
Tasks being added
With these barriers identified, you can now do the more difficult thing, which is to name all your skills and the mindset shifts that will help you overcome your blocks.
Things like:
“I can do hard things.”
“I deserve a calm work experience.”
“I can...[lists all the ways I've kicked ass and moved my work along before, as well as maybe a few tips from this awesome blog post I’m reading right now].”
By now, you’ve allowed your brain and emotions to process all the blocks and to see all the gifts that will get you closer to the results you want, but we still don't actually have a strategic plan… yet.
Step 4: Discover Bold Action
Now for what you’ve been waiting for… It’s time to start building that strategic plan!
With your emotions acknowledged and processed, the tasks organized, the vision set, and the blocks identified, you are ready to articulate your bold actions.
What are 2-3 bold actions(not tasks) that are required to move you forward and will leverage your capacity, competency, and creativity?
Brainstorm 8-12 answers and cluster them into 2-3 sets of distinct and declarative action statements. Try using "By [verb ending in -ing]..." at the beginning of your sentences to give yourself a starting point, then end it with your vision.
Some Examples from My Life:
I have a pile of important but not immediate tasks that I keep putting off. This takes deep focus and endurance, but my blocks are the daily pings about anything else besides this work. So, how might I get to that confident clarity that only comes from deep focus and endurance… and overcome the "little things" that keep putting off this important work?
"By developing a customer research plan and segmenting the phases in a dedicated weekly hold on my calendar, I am able to complete my vitally important task without crashing out."
"By promising my client updates on this research work, I build trust and confidence in my client relationships."
"By delegating tasks to someone, I free up my to-do list of busy work and allow myself to work within my personal zone of genius.
So, what does bold action look like for you? What is YOUR bold action for getting over the crest of things in your way?
Step 5: Taking Action… Consistently(Not Perfectly)
Now that you have clear, bold actions to take that align with your vision, it’s time to put your plan into action.
Adding milestones can help you achieve your goals and stay consistent. Assigning milestones and achieving them then propels your progress and growth forward.
You can develop these milestones by first defining what a one-year milestone would be, then chunking it down to quarterly, then monthly. You can also do a 3-day action plan, a 180-day action plan, or a 48-hour action plan with milestones at each 8-hour mark.
Some strategic planning efforts have only a few days to tackle the tsunami of tasks. This is often the life of artists and artist management.
Here’s An Example From My Life:
I recently did a very short-term and last-minute project for a band where I recruited, vetted, and coordinated a group of extras for a video shoot. This kind of turnaround is where strategic planning is insanely powerful in getting the work done well while still being kind to my nervous system.
One of my bold actions that I defined for securing extras for this video shoot was:
"Aligning the production team's expectations with preparing the extras' role and expectations."
With this bold action, I saw these milestones to hit:
Launch the recruitment form
Select the extras
Meet them on set
Wrap their time on set
My 48-hour action plan to see this bold action through?
Action plan 1: Sketch the full timeline of communication with extras so that I can see where I need information from the production team and when it's appropriate to communicate what to the extras.
This action helped me plan and ask the right questions, and instead of diving headfirst into chaos, I hit my stride with clarity and calmness.
It helped me see both where the extras would have questions and where the production team could use more clarification to get the most out of the extras.
My quick but complicated project was taking shape by seeing it in its entirety, from where I'm starting to where I want it to be in the end.
I completed this first action plan (sketching the timeline of communication), which then helped me see all the other actions I needed to take, including:
Draft the recruitment form
Drafting the message for each communication touchpoint with applicants
Schedule my time for when I'd review applications
Figure out any technical considerations, like which email account to use
Work out logistics for security, wellness, and safety
So, by seeing the milestones and THEN defining the technical and human-centered design tasks, I kicked butt at those tasks (and the project as a whole) where normally it would have been a total shit show.
Strategic planning isn't just for big corporations; it's a powerful tool to bring calm, clarity, and creativity to any overwhelming task pile. It's time to stop reacting and start strategically creating the work experience you deserve.-----Ready to dive deeper?
