REGENT UNIVERSITY

Strategic Assessment and Plan:

A Four-Phased Approach

Servant Leadership Research Roundtable – August 2006

John J. Sullivan
Director, ServantLeader Ministries

This paper will introduce a practical approach to strategic planning applicable to all types of
organizations. A four-phase, ten-step plan will be outlined with application from a servant-leader’s
perspective. It provides a systematic way to focus on Guiding Principles, long-range plans, and key
systems for sustained health and future organizational growth. It offers several areas of possible
research and raises important questions regarding education and training in servant leadership.

Introduction

Every leader of every organization should periodically do a strategic assessment; and every leader of every
organization should have a strategic plan that they intend to implement or are implementing. This is equally
true for servant leaders. For a new organization these may be a part of the formal business plan. For existing
organizations, they form the core of long-range strategic planning and are the blueprint or template for
operational planning.

In this paper I will describe a Strategic Assessment and Plan that may be utilized by any type of organization,
be it a for-profit business or a not-for-profit organization. If yours is a new organization, you may find that the
assessment phases 1 and 2 are most helpful. If yours is an existing organization, the assessment phases will
help you identify your current state while the planning phases (3 and 4) will point you in the direction you will
want to go.

The Strategic Assessment and Plan has four phases and ten steps. Each of the steps has a set of questions
that, taken as a whole, form the plan. The answers to the questions posed in the phases and steps provide the
guidance and direction needed for sustained health and future growth. The phases are:

Phase 1: Where are we?

Phase 2: Where do we want to go?

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Phase 3: How are we going to get there?

Phase 4: Are we getting there?

Phase 1: Where are we?

In this assessment phase we will determine our mission, the leader's responsibilities, and analyze the
environment in which our organization exists or functions. The first step is to determine our mission. What is
our purpose, our reason for being? Mission involves what we do now, here in the present. It may change in
the future, and probably will, but at least for now, this is what we do. At this point, don’t worry too much about
crafting a mission statement (assuming you don’t have one). That can come later. For now, focus on
identifying what it is you do as an organization. Later on you can refine a succinct, coherent statement of your
mission.

Next we ask what business are we in? This requires a wide-angle view of our mission and vision for the future.
For example, had the railroad companies in the 19th century recognized that they were in the business of
moving people and heavy, bulky products over long distances, today they would be vertically integrated with
other means of transportation to include airlines, ships, and trucks. Instead, they saw themselves as providing
"rail transportation" for people and things. Others own the airlines, shipping and trucking companies. Recently
some friends took a trip to Alaska. The trip was booked through a vacation cruise company but involved airline
transportation, rail transportation, accommodation at a luxury hotel, as well as several days spent cruising on
the ship. All of these were owned by the cruise line, with the exception of the airline transportation. This is an
example of a company that understands that they are in the business of providing a memorable vacation
through the use of different venues and transportation mediums horizontally and vertically integrated.

Who are our customers? Our "customers" are those individuals or organizations who receive our "products"
whatever they may be, past, present, and future. Who are we serving now? Who would we like to serve in the
future? Determining our customer's needs will form the critical component of our future plan, i.e., how can we
best meet those needs? Do we know our customer's demographics? What about lost customers?
Determining why customers do not return to your organization can be difficult and time-consuming but the
answers can save you future defections. And since new customers can cost up to ten times the cost of
retaining existing customers, it will be money well spent (Heebsh, 2006).

Some organizations resist the concept of identifying "customers." This is especially true in education. Who is
the customer? Is it the student, the parent, local businesses, the community? By wrestling with that question,
you may find that you have several classes of customers. For example, I believe that education does have
more than one customer. I can argue that students receive the "product" of education from faculty and staff
and are therefore the "customers" of a school. At another level, I can argue that the educated student is really
the "product" of that institution and the employer of its graduates is the true "customer." We can also argue
that parents who fund the school (through taxes or tuition) are the true "customers" and must be satisfied. We
can see that some organizations may have multiple "customers" whose needs are important and must be met
in order for the organization to be successful.

The second step in Phase 1 is to identify the leader's responsibilities, leadership style and values.
Ultimately, the leader is responsible for everything that the organization does or does not do. A couple of years
ago a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine ran aground on an uncharted sandbar while running submerged. The
captain was not at the helm yet he was held accountable and was relieved of his command when the boat
returned to port. The U.S. Navy understands that the captain is ultimately responsible for the safe conduct of
his vessel even when he is not physically overseeing its course; just so every organization. Does that mean
that the leader should retain all responsibility unto himself and delegate nothing? Absolutely not, in fact the
leader should seek to delegate all responsibilities except those few that he and he alone must do. This frees
him up to concentrate on his most important tasks and creates future leaders who learn as they are delegated
responsibility. Therefore, in this step we seek to identify those things that only the leader can do. The number
of tasks in every organization will be small because most things can be delegated. Examples of leader-only
 Servant Leadership Research Roundtable – August 2006 3

functions might include: evaluating senior staff, administering the Sacraments, or working with senior
community leaders.

Next, we examine leadership style. Don't misunderstand me, as I am not advocating abandonment of the
servant-leader approach--by no means! Recent stories in the business press have highlighted companies that
are apparently pulling out of a downward spiral after replacing their celebrity CEOs. Under new, low-key,
people-focused leaders who seek out the counsel of their subordinates, several major corporations are
effecting a turnaround. As Jim Collins discovered in researching for his book, Good to Great, all of the eleven
"great" CEOs were self-effacing, quiet and reserved yet driven for organizational success (Collins, 2001). He
called them Level 5 leaders; I call them servant leaders. I believe this approach to leadership, as exemplified
by Jesus of Nazareth, is the best model for leading people.1 He taught that people must be led one person at a
time.

Discovering the leadership approach required of your subordinates means you must first determine each
person's level of competency and commitment. Competency refers to the level of expertise and efficiency for
the task assigned. Someone who has multiple tasks may have multiple levels of competency; i.e., they may be
very good at one task but less so at another. Evaluation of competency is task-specific. The degree of leader
involvement is dependent upon the task and not the individual. In other words, you may need to be more
involved in coaching and guiding someone who has low competency with a specific task but have little direct
involvement with other tasks where their competency level is high.

Organizational commitment is global in nature. That is, ones level of commitment to the success of the
organization is not dependent upon a specific task. The leader's challenge with this type of person is to move
them from an "enrolled" status to one of commitment. A person who is merely enrolled is one who does what
is required, nothing more, nothing less. She has no long-term interest in the organization and displays little or
no loyalty. On the other hand, a person who is truly committed to an organization takes the initiative to do
what needs to be done for the organization to be successful. She does not wait to be told her job, she seeks
out ways to improve, refine, and build quality and efficiency.

Leaders should examine their staff and seek to discover each person's level of competency and commitment
and then decide the level of leader involvement and delegated responsibility appropriate to each. This does
not mean foregoing an overall servant-leader approach. It does mean that you will be more involved on a daily
basis with some employees and less with others.

The final substep involves a comparison of organizational values and the leader's personal values. Are the two
in agreement? If not, then the leader must take some action to either change the culture of the organization or
his personal values. In an entrepreneurial start-up, organizational values generally reflect the leader's values.
In an existing organization, the inherited values of an organization may have changed over its lifespan and are
no longer healthy to growth. This can frequently happen as an organization becomes larger and begins to take
on the negative qualities of a bureaucracy (not that all bureaucratic characteristics are negative). For example,
with the introduction of competition in the telecommunication industry, telephone companies who formerly
operated a monopoly are now faced with a new model for customer service. Those companies who will
consistently provide superior customer service at a fair price will be successful. Others who do not treat
customers as assets will not survive.

The third and final step in Phase 1 is to analyze the environments in which an organization exists,
internally and externally. This is often referred to as SWAT analysis: strengths and weaknesses (internally),
and opportunities and threats (externally). What are our own organizational strengths? What are our
distinctive competencies and our competitive advantage, i.e., what sets us apart from others that have the
same or similar mission? For a business, this means asking why should a customer do business with us over
one of our competitors? For a non-profit, such as a church, it means asking why should a family attend our
church rather than another church closer to home? An organization that cannot identify its competitive

1
For a complete discussion of Jesus as leader see the author’s book, Servant First! Leadership for the New
Millennium, Xulon Press, 2004.

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 4 Strategic Assessment and Plan - Sullivan

advantage is doomed to failure. So if you don't know what your competitive advantage is, you might as well get
out of business now and save yourself the headaches of certain failure in the future. But it may also include:
location, availability and education of the workforce, cost control, quality level, worker satisfaction, use of
technology and the like. What are our weaknesses? These may include many of the same categories listed
under strengths. We must be brutally honest here and seek to build on our strengths and mitigate our
weaknesses.

As we look to the external environment, we identify our competitors and not only those who offer a similar
product but also those who have a product that may be substituted for ours. For example, a company
operating a golf driving range and batting cages needs to look beyond other driving ranges/batting cages and
consider companies offering recreation services as potential competitors. What are the strengths and
weaknesses of our competitors? Consider factors such as: location, level of technology, prices, reputation,
longevity, community involvement, and customer service. What are the barriers to entry to our
business/industry? What are the opportunities and threats in the external environment? Is the local
government a threat or an opportunity? Companies operating internationally will consider this as one of the
major environmental factors. Consider other factors such as: number of competitors, regulations,
environmental constraints, natural resources, transportation infrastructure and the state of the economy.

Once we have done a thorough assessment of our current condition, we turn to the question of what do we
want to become?

Phase 2: Where do we want to go?

Here we look to the future by working through the next four steps to develop our vision and organizational
values; identify key processes and systems; determine gaps in performance; and finally, establish objectives
and goals.

You will recall that in Phase 1 we developed our mission, i.e., our purpose, our reason for being. Mission is
what we do NOW; it is oriented to the present. Vision is what we hope to do in the future. It is a unifying
picture of where the organization is going and enables everyone to focus on the same distant point on the
horizon. Our mission may change as we move toward our vision over time but our vision should remain.
Mission and vision form two elements of the organization's Guiding Principles. The third element is values,
which will be discussed below (Sullivan, 2004).

Step 4 is development of the organizational vision and values. That vision should be a shared vision. It will
not be effective as a guiding principle if it is only the leader's vision. The leader has an important role to play in
visioning but his role cannot be as the sole author and enforcer of the vision. A vision statement crafted by a
leader or even an executive group without input and critique from the people within the organization will not
become a shared vision. Sorry, it just won't happen. So how do we achieve a shared vision?

Servant leaders know that people are more committed to decisions when they have been involved in the
decision process. Even if an individual's opinions and ideas are not accepted along the path to a final
decision, the fact that you listened to them and considered their input is vital to their commitment to
implementation. Therefore it is important that as many people as possible in the organization have an
opportunity to provide input on the organizational vision statement. Practically, how do you do that?

Here is where the leader comes in because without the leader's active involvement there will be no vision.
(See Proverbs 29:18) The leader must initiate the discussion of a vision of a future state, an organization that
we hope to become. She may even have a small group of people draft a vision statement after talking to as
many people in the organization as possible about what they see in the future for our organization. Once this is
done, I like Stephen Covey's recommendation to send the statement out with an invitation to critique it that
reads something like this: "Here is the draft vision statement. We don't much like it either so we'd like to hear
from you!" (Covey, 1989). That gives license to tear it apart. If you don't do that then it becomes the "boss'
 Servant Leadership Research Roundtable – August 2006 5

vision statement" and your people will be fearful to openly criticize it. Your only input will be laudatory
comments that do nothing to create commitment to the vision.

The third element in our organizational Guiding Principles is values, i.e., how will we treat each other and our
"customers" (those we serve) on our way toward our vision? In the first phase, we discussed the leader's
values and how they must examine their own set of values and how they relate to the organization. In this
step, we are determining what those organizational values currently are, or if this is a new organization, what
we want them to be. Organizational values that form and shape the organizational culture are often unspoken
but are simply "the way we do things around here." A new leader coming in to an existing organization may be
surprised to learn the dominant values practiced in the organization. What is down on paper and the "way
things really work" may be two entirely different things. Ask lots of questions and values will emerge. It may
take setting up a series of scenarios: if this happens, how do we deal with it? For example: What do we tell a
customer when a shipment will be late especially if he represents a large percentage of our total sales?

How are we going to treat each other within the organization? What level of trust are we comfortable with? For
example, an organization that trusts and respects its employees will not hesitate to share its financial details.
The company is saying, in effect: we trust you and respect your judgment and opinions such that we are willing
to disclose our most intimate financial details with you since this is your company too! However, you must live
out those values for them to become truly a part of the culture. Southwest Airlines is famous for its customer
service. They live out their value of putting customers' needs first. However, if the day arrives where an
employee is disciplined for taking too much time with a customer that value dies. The old value is replaced
with "speed = profit" and the needs of customers move to the back of the line. So be careful what you say you
value because your people will be watching to see if you really mean it.

Step 5 is to identify your key processes and systems. What are the few key systems and processes that
differentiate us from our competitors and give us competitive advantage? Most organizations do lots of things
but there are a few, select systems and processes that set the organization apart from others that are critical.
We must do these well or we will not survive as an organization. The great football coach Vince Lombardi was
very successful, in part, because he focused on the essentials: tackling and blocking. What is essential to the
success of your organization? What are those systems and processes that are most important to its survival?
For example, a liberal arts college must provide good, sound classroom instruction in order to survive. They do
lots of other things but classroom instruction is critical to the future of the organization. Likewise, the
manufacturing processes of an automobile maker are critical to its success. If they don't build a quality
automobile, all the glib marketing in the world won't save it from ruin. For a church, the Sunday worship
service is a critical system or series of processes involving facilities, music, prayers, scripture reading, a
message preached, and the coordination of a host of people. A beautiful campus or an award-winning day
care facility will not keep the doors of that church open; focusing on the critical systems will.

Step 6 is to determine the gaps in performance in our key systems and processes. We do this because we
know that these systems and processes are essential to our survival and we must do them well. The Pareto
Principle states that 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes (Reh, 2006). Therefore we should
focus on those few essential systems and processes, as they will impact most of the other systems within the
organization. First, we must gather data on our current level of performance in our key systems and
processes. The metrics we choose are also critical since we must find what truly measures our effectiveness
and that can take some time and trial. For example, the number of hours an employee spends in professional
growth seminars is not a good metric for their level of training. What the person is able to do with the new
knowledge is what you want to measure. Finding a metric that does that is the challenge.

Once we feel that we have a good understanding of the steady state performance of our key systems, then we
compare that condition with our desired future state. How do we determine what the standard should be?
One way is to look to those organizations in whatever industry that consistently produce world-class results in a
given area or system. If you were to stop by the L.L. Bean headquarters in Freeport, Maine, today you would
see people from all over the world who are not there to purchase items from the L.L. Bean retail store—
although they may indulge a bit. They are there to learn how L.L. Bean is able to produce, market, and ship

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 6 Strategic Assessment and Plan - Sullivan

their many products all over the world with great efficiency, accuracy and timeliness. L.L. Bean is the world
standard and thankfully they are willing to share their expertise with others.

As we compare our key processes and systems against such standards, are there gaps in performance? In
most cases, there will be. Now our task is to develop objectives and goals to close those gaps.

Step 7, the final step in Phase 2, is where we establish strategic and operational objectives that once
obtained, will close the gaps in performance in our key systems and processes. The terms “objectives” and
“goals” are sometimes interchanged but I prefer to use the term objective to mean an over-arching or super-
goal and goals as a series of measurable targets leading up to an objective. Strategic objectives are those
longer-term objectives that will take 3-5 years to complete. That is the time frame generally accepted as long-
term, at least in the West. Eastern cultures tend to think in much long terms as witnessed by Konosuke
Matsushita, founder and CEO of Matsushita Electric, the global Japanese electronic firm, who some years ago
asked his senior executives to think 250 years out (Clawson 2006). Jesus’ challenge to “… go make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 29:19)
is a strategic objective many centuries out!

Operational objectives are to be completed within a year. An example of a strategic objective for a
manufacturing company might be to develop new product lines for Eastern Europe. An operational objective
supporting this could be to develop and market one new product for Eastern Europe. A strategic objective for
an urban church could be to establish a youth drop-in center for teens or develop and implement parenting
skills training for single parents.

Goals then are established under each objective that lead to completion of at least one element of that
objective. These goals must be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, and time-
determined. For example:

Strategic Objective: Develop new product lines for Eastern Europe

Goal: Within 90 days, determine customer needs for our products and available suppliers within Eastern
Germany

Specific: determine needs and suppliers within Eastern Germany

Measurable: listing of expressed product needs and outlets for supply
Achievable: we believe this can be done in the time allotted
Results-oriented: specific results have been identified
Time-determined: complete within three months

Strategic Objective: Establish a youth drop-in center for teens

Goal: By January 1, create a prioritized listing of available suitable existing buildings listed under
$500,000 within 3 miles of church

Specific: determine inventory of available, suitable building near our facility

Measurable: physical count of buildings meeting our criteria
Achievable: we believe this can be done in the time allotted
Results-oriented: specific results have been identified
Time-determined: a deadline has been established

Each objective may have several goals. The more complex the objective the more goals we can expect.
Objectives must support the mission and vision of the organization. Likewise, goals will support one or more
objectives. Objectives that are not directly tied to furthering the organization's mission and vision should not
be considered.
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Phase 3: How are we going to get there?

This phase, which has a single step, requires the development of an implementation plan and systems for
monitoring performance.

Step 8 involves development of an implementation plan for the objectives and goals determined in Phase
2. Remember that each objective and its associated goal(s) are carefully selected to close a measurable gap
between our current level of performance in key systems and processes and the desired future state. For each
goal, we must determine:

A. Who will be assigned responsibility for completion of the goal?

B. What steps are to be accomplished?
C. What resources will be made available?
D. How should the work be accomplished?
E. When do we want the goal completed?

Who will be held responsible for accomplishing the goal? This involves delegation of responsibility from a
leader to a subordinate. This must be done since a task cannot simply be assigned to a group of people with
the expectation that they will accept the responsibility and accomplish the task. Some one must be held
directly responsible.

Successful delegation involves three elements: responsibility, authority and accountability. When a leader
assigns responsibility for a task to a subordinate, he is, in effect, transferring his responsibility to that person.
As discussed in Phase 1, the leader is responsible for everything the organization does or does not do. But he
can and must delegate direct responsibility for tasks to subordinates. In order for the person to effectively
accomplish the task assigned, he must also receive the authority to call upon resources needed to accomplish
the goal. Those resources may include people, material, technology, funds, equipment, time, or whatever is
needed to get the job done. Finally, the person assigned will be held accountable for accomplishment of the
task. Failure to perform a delegated task successfully is usually attributable to the leader’s failure at
delegating one of the essential elements. Often, that element is authority.

The Gospels record Jesus delegating responsibility to His disciples as He prepared them to assume leadership:
“… Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them power and authority to cast out demons and to
heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the coming of the Kingdom of God and to heal
the sick” (emphasis added. Luke 9:1,2). When He had finished delegating these responsibilities, Jesus “…
went off teaching and preaching in towns throughout the country” (Matthew 11:1). Not long after delegating
authority to heal and exorcise we see evidence that Jesus delegated other leadership responsibilities to his
disciples in the feeding of the five thousand. Confronted with their plea to “send the crowds away to the
nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night,” (Matthew 9:12), Jesus turns to the
disciples and commands, “You feed them,” (emphasis added. Matthew 9:13). Jesus has made clear to these
His future leaders that He has delegated not only the responsibility to care for the people but also the authority
to call upon resources to successfully complete each task.

The steps to be accomplished are a series of events that must be completed in order for the goal to be
realized. At this level they should be generalized while leaving the details to the person assigned and their
team to determine. The same principle applies to the question of how should the work be accomplished.
Leave the details to the leader and their team to determine how best to accomplish the steps.

The resources needed to accomplish the task must be authorized or assigned by the senior leader whenever
they exceed the normal level of authority of the delegated leader. This is best done in writing and formal notice
given to other senior leaders in the organization of the delegated leader's authority and the duration of the
task. This is especially important when people from another part of the organization may be required to assist
in task accomplishment.

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 8 Strategic Assessment and Plan - Sullivan

Assigning a date/time for goal accomplishment makes very clear to all when the job must be completed. If
follow on tasks will depend upon completion of the task assigned, the person assigned and their team should
also know this.

One way to display goals is with a grid, as depicted in Table 1, below.

Table 1.

GOAL WHO? STEPS RESOURCES HOW? WHEN?

Determine Roger Smith's 1. Survey 1. Smith's team 1. By random Final report by 15
customer needs team in potential of 4 survey July
in E. Germany marketing customers 2. Direct mailing 2. Suppliers
2. Determine up to 20,000 within E.
substitutes homes Germany
3. Identify brand 3. Funds 3. Buyers for
loyalty necessary for major retail
analytic reporting chains
by contractor
Determine Jim Brown, 1. Determine our 1. Brown + 1. Review Preliminary report
suitable space Youth Minister youth population Facility Director projected by 1 Dec; final
for youth center over next 15 2. Church Realty demographic report by 1 Jan
years Division growth in youth
2. Determine 3. Church sedan population
square footage 2. Survey our
and facilities youth & other
needed churches with
3. Identify youth centers for
available facility needs
structures w/i 3 3. Major realtors
mile radius for buildings
availability
4. Prioritized list
of buildings
under $500K

Finally we turn to the fourth phase where we will establish a review process for changing our strategic direction
and ensuring that our plan stays fresh and relevant over time.

Phase 4: Are we getting there?

These two last steps involve monitoring performance, analyzing feedback, review and evaluation. This is the
phase most often overlooked or underappreciated but critical to the success of our strategic plan. "What gets
measured gets done," is an old but true proverb. Therefore, as discussed in Step 6, our choice of metrics is
vitally important to goal achievement. Do we measure effectiveness, i.e., doing the right things, or efficiency,
i.e., doing things right? Step 9, therefore, is where we determine how we will measure objective/goal
accomplishment and identify other means for progress feedback. This step is often overlooked because it is
difficult and frequently frustrating to determine the measures that will tell you what you need to know. The fast
and easy choices often don’t measure our true success or failure. Finding the right metrics can be a process of
trial and error. That's why it is necessary to frequently review and evaluate the data and its associated metric.
For example, does counting the number of conferences or workshops attended tell us whether or not a leader
understands and can apply servant leadership to his everyday responsibilities? How do we measure the
results of his education?
 Servant Leadership Research Roundtable – August 2006 9

Normally, leaders will want to use more than one metric to gain a true perspective on goal accomplishment.
Selecting a quantitative and a qualitative metric may provide more realistic feedback than simply relying on a
quantitative measurement alone. For example, measuring customer satisfaction with a product by tracking the
number of complaints received for that product may only tell us part of the story. Talking with customers may
reveal that problems with the product have caused customer defections to competing products. The
customers are not complaining because they are no longer your customers!

Jesus was debating with some teachers of religious law when one of the men spoke up to say that his son was
mute and possessed by an evil spirit, which caused him to have violent seizures. He had taken the boy to
Jesus’ disciples for healing but they were unable to cast out the evil spirit. When the lad was brought forward,
Jesus rebuked the spirit, healed him, and sent father and son happily on their way. Later, His disciples
questioned Him as to why they could not cast out the evil spirit. Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only
by prayer,” (Mark 9:14-29). Jesus used feedback from a “customer” to measure the effectiveness of His
delegation of responsibility and authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal. He held His disciples responsible
for performing the work and when presented with evidence that they were not completely successful, He
corrected them and sent them out again.

Step 10 is review and evaluation. Here we determine the process for continued review of our progress on
objective/goal accomplishment. How frequently will we review the data? What level of variation (deviation
from plan) will cause us to change our implementation plan? What criteria will we use for changing strategic
direction? How often will we review our mission and vision? What events would cause us to change? These
questions need to be answered with broad participation throughout the organization. I recommend that the
senior level of the organization conduct an annual review of its Guiding Principles and its major objectives.
Objectives and associated goals should be reviewed at least semiannually at the division level and more
frequently (quarterly/monthly) at the next level down.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel chain, long the leader in the luxury hotel sector, recently conducted just such a review.
Recognizing the changing demographics in the typical high-end hotel guest, the “name that has defined luxury
as a cross between formal elegance and unwavering service” (Sanders 2006, B1) has announced that they are
abandoning their 20 rules for dealing with guest requests and adopting instead 12 service values. Rather than
adhering to a rigid set of responses for each situation, the “ladies and gentlemen” of the Ritz-Carlton chain will
be asked to think for themselves.

According to the president and chief executive officer, Simon Cooper, hotel chains in this sector are struggling
with how to define luxury in a crowded and evolving market. The typical luxury hotel traveler is no longer
necessarily a middle-age male businessman or a wealthy jet-setter but could be a 30-something in a T-shirt
and jeans. This new type of guest often doesn’t want to be addressed in the old, more formal way. This has
caused a reassessment at the very core of what the company stands for. Vivian Deuschl, vice president for
public relations, affirmed that the Ritz is not changing their values, rather they are freeing their associates to
better meet the needs of guests while maintaining high standards for service (V. Deuschl, personal
communication, June 29, 2006). This type of assessment and targeted response to environmental changes
are what keep companies like the Ritz-Carlton at the top of their industry.

Conclusion

The Strategic Assessment and Plan, as outlined here, provides a way for servant leaders in all types of
organizations to broadly involve their people intimately and deeply in the future of the organization. This
begins with a collective assessment of the current state of the organization and the environments within which
it operates. Once we are confident of our contemporary state, we next determine the future direction for the
organization. This may mean holding true to the established course or turning to a new heading based on our
shared vision. Then we identify those few, important things that we do that can mean success or failure—our
key processes and systems. We closely examine our output in those key areas against world-class standards
or what we have determined to be our goals and look for gaps in performance. Where we are able to identify
substandard performance, we create objectives and goals to close those gaps. These objectives and goals are
then defined by implementation plans laying out the steps required to achieve each objective and goal. Once

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 10 Strategic Assessment and Plan - Sullivan

the plans have been implemented, we must develop feedback mechanisms that will provide us with real-time
progress reports. Finally, we must create a review process for reassessing our overall plans and objectives.

By now you have probably come to the conclusion that this is not a quick or simple process. And you are right—
it is not! However, it is an effective tool for leaders in all types of organizations to harness the ingenuity and
creativity of people and to involve them directly in the future direction of the organization by creating new
servant leaders in organizations that add meaning and purpose to their lives and the lives of those they serve.
 Servant Leadership Research Roundtable – August 2006 11

References

Clawson, J., (2006). Personal and Organizational Charters.

http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/clawsonj/pdf/ClawCh12v2_072205.pdf (July 8, 2006)

Collins, J.C., (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t. New York, NY:
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Covey, S.R., (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York,
NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Heebsh, A., (2006). Customers: the new window to profitability. Teradata Magazine.
http://www.teradata.com/t/page/135376/index.html (June 29, 2006).

Holy Bible. (1996). New Living Translation, New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale
House Publishers.

Reh, F.J. Pareto’s Principle-The 80-20 Rule. About Management.

http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm (June 28, 2006).

Sanders, P., (2006). Taking’ Off the Ritz—a Tad. Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2006, B1.

Sullivan, J.J., (2004). Servant First! Leadership for the New Millennium. Longwood, FL: Xulon Press.

Published by the School of Leadership Studies, Regent University

 12 Strategic Assessment and Plan - Sullivan

Figure 1

The Strategic Assessment and Plan

An Outline

Phase 1: Where are we?

1. Determine the mission

What is our purpose, reason for existence?

What business are we in?

Who are our customers?

2. Identify the leader's responsibilities, leadership style & values

What are the things only the leader can do? (i.e., what cannot be delegated?)

What leadership style is required given the circumstances (level of commitment &
competency)?

How will the leader's own personal values affect the organization?

3. Analyze the external & internal environments

What are our own internal strengths & weaknesses?

What are our distinctive competencies/competitive advantages?

Who are our competitors & what are their strengths & weaknesses?

What other external threats & opportunities can we identify?

Phase 2: Where do we want to go?

4. Develop the organizational vision & values

What is our vision for the future of our organization?

What values will we adhere to in dealing with our customers (those we serve), both external &
internal?

5. Identify key processes & systems

What are the few, key systems & processes that differentiate us from our competitors?

What are those systems & process that are most important to our survival?
 Servant Leadership Research Roundtable – August 2006 13

6. Determine gaps in performance

What is our current level of performance in our key systems & processes?

When we compare our current performance with our desired future state, are there gaps in
systems or processes?

7. Establish objectives & goals

What are the strategic and operational objectives that, once obtained, will close our gaps in
performance?

What are the necessary goals we will need to achieve in order to accomplish our stated
objectives?

Phase 3: How are we going to get there?

8. Develop the implementation plan

For each goal, determine:

who will be assigned responsibility?

what steps are to be accomplished?

what resources are available?

how will the work be accomplished (in general terms)?

when do we want the goal completed?

Phase 4: Are we getting there?

9. Monitor performance & feedback analysis

How will we measure goal accomplishment?

What other means will we use for feedback on our progress?

10. Review & evaluation

What will be the process for continual review of our progress?

What criteria will we use for changing strategic direction?

Published by the School of Leadership Studies, Regent University