Why Strategic Pillars Matter

In a world where change is accelerating, we argue that detailed planning beyond a one year time horizon is increasingly impractical. However, the value of long-range vision provided by having Strategic Pillars remains timeless and indispensable.

What are Strategic Pillars?

Strategic Pillars are a key component of the Strategic Pyramid. They connect the high-level aspirations of why you exist and how you envision the future to the detailed plans on what exactly do we need to do to get there. They are aspirational statements of where the organization needs to be on a long-term horizon, generally 3-5 years out. Think of them as the supporting columns of a structure - each pillar represents a fundamental area where the organization must excel to succeed. These pillars translate the lofty ambitions of a company's vision into tangible areas of focus, which then inform specific objectives and initiatives.

• Mission - Why does your organization exist?
• Vision - What is your long-term vision that your organization will help create?
• Values - What is important to you about how you get there?
• Strategic Pillars - What are your big high level, and long-term ideas about how you will achieve your mission?
• Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) - What specifically do we need to accomplish and how will we measure when it's done?
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) - How do we make sure the organization is healthy and that the day-to-day is working so that we can focus energy on strategy?

Strategic Pillars vs Strategic Themes

We see these as interchangeable concepts - synonyms really. While your OKRs will track the important specific things you need to do, your Strategic Pillars, aka, Strategic Themes are the big ideas behind your organization. By painting these big picture ideas clearly you help ensure that all of the specific work that gets done aligns ultimately to achieving your mission and vision.

Why are Strategic Pillars Important?

Strategic pillars are vital because they provide clarity and direction. They break down the abstract concept of a "mission" into manageable, focused areas, enabling an organization to allocate resources efficiently and measure progress effectively. By establishing clear strategic pillars, companies can ensure that all efforts are aligned with their core goals, fostering unity and purpose across the organization.

Moreover, strategic pillars facilitate better decision-making. When faced with new opportunities or challenges, leaders can evaluate them against their strategic pillars to determine whether they support the company’s overarching goals. This alignment ensures that every strategic objective moves the needle in the right direction.

How to Create Strategic Pillars?

Creating strategic pillars involves a deep understanding of your organization's mission, vision, and competitive landscape. Here is a simplified process to guide you:

• Review your mission and vision: Understand the core purpose and the future state your organization aims to achieve.
• Conduct an environmental analysis: Identify your strengths, weaknesses, external trends and where you stand compared to competitors and the environment.  There are several popular frameworks that support this work (https://www.stratsimple.com/post/the-state-of-strategic-planning-frameworks)
• Identify key focus areas: Based on your mission, vision, and environmental analysis- look 3 years out, determine the critical areas where your organization needs to excel.
• Validate and refine: Ensure that these pillars are comprehensive yet focused and refine them through feedback from various stakeholders.  Revisit these annually, it is good for them to be stable but to be successful it's important to be flexible and change your strategic pillars if your situation changes.
• Translate into actional plans: For each pillar, define specific, measurable objectives that, if achieved, will signify success in that area. We believe that OKRs are the best solution for planning and executing your strategic plan. (https://www.stratsimple.com/post/okrs-vs-kpis)

How Often Should Strategic Pillars Change?

We believe the best practice is to re-evaluate your Strategic Pillars annually, but always with a long-term perspective of 3-5 years into the future.  It is a good thing if they stay consistent, but it is critical that there be flexibility to change if circumstances warrant.

Strategic pillars should strike a balance between providing a stable direction and allowing for flexibility to adapt to significant shifts in the market, technology, or customer behavior. They serve as the constants in your strategic equation, guiding decision-making and resource allocation over multiple years. Yet, the specific objectives and initiatives under each pillar are more fluid, adjusting as needed to reflect changes in the organization's internal and external environments.

Key Triggers for Revisiting Strategic Pillars

• Major Shifts in the Market or Industry: Significant changes, such as new technologies, regulatory shifts, or emerging competitive threats, might necessitate a reevaluation of your strategic pillars.
• Changes in Customer Needs and Preferences: If customer behavior or preferences change substantially, it might be time to reassess your pillars to ensure they align with these new realities.
• Organizational Changes: Significant internal changes, such as mergers, acquisitions, or shifts in your mission and vision, can prompt a review of your strategic pillars.
• Performance Against Goals: If your organization consistently misses its strategic targets, this could indicate that your pillars no longer align with the most effective path to success.

How are Strategic Pillars and OKRs connected?

Strategic pillars and OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) share a symbiotic relationship, with each playing a pivotal role in the strategic planning and execution process within organizations. Strategic pillars represent the core areas of focus that an organization must excel in to achieve its long-term vision and mission. These pillars provide a structured framework for strategic prioritization and resource allocation, ensuring that all efforts are aligned with the overarching goals of the organization.

OKRs, on the other hand, operationalize these strategic pillars by breaking them down into specific, measurable objectives and key results. This goal-setting framework allows organizations to set ambitious targets and track progress towards these targets with clarity and precision. OKRs embody the actionable steps and measurable outcomes that contribute directly to the achievement of the strategic pillars, offering a clear roadmap for execution.

Strategic Pillar Do's and Don'ts

Do:

• Revisit them annually
• Assure alignment with Mission, Vision, and Values
• Involve key stakeholders in evaluating and setting them
• Make them clear, concise and inspirational

Don't:

• Build tactical plans for how you will achieve your 3-5 year plan that will then sit on a shelf or quickly be irrelevant and out-of-date.
• Have too many of them, just like OKRs the sweet spot is 3-5.
• Avoid fluff and filler words
• Avoid being overly wordy in describing them.
• Treat them as your highest level OKRs

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