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Sustainability Boardgame for the Boardroom
Posted by johnsoncontrols on November 28, 2006 10:47 PM
Clay G. Nesler
Vice President, Innovation Services
Johnson Controls, Inc.
“We don’t have time for games!” This is sometimes the reaction from senior management when they learn that they will be using a game board as part of a strategic planning session. While the reaction is understandable, using a game-board as a planning tool actually has many advantages over traditional approaches. The introduction of the new sustainability version of the Solutions Navigator™ at GreenBuild, November 14-16, prompted me to reflect upon some of the things we’ve learned using game board inspired planning tools with hundreds of clients over the past two years.
So, when was the last time someone in your organization said strategic planning was fun? Most planning sessions involve the many, but engage the few. We have found that adopting a familiar and friendly format, such as a game board, to facilitate strategic planning helps to break the ice as well as organizational barriers while encouraging objectivity and candor.
In a Navigation Session, every participant gets their own game board and completes an independent evaluation of organizational needs and practices. These needs and practices are printed on cards that participants place at specific locations on a five-by-five matrix printed on the game-board based on relative importance and current satisfaction. After each participant completes their individual assessment, results are compared as a group to identify areas of consensus and establish priorities for improvement.
Our experience suggests that the success of a planning activity is highly dependent on having the right people involved. In sustainability planning sessions, we suggest a broad cross-functional team with participation from facilities management, health and safety, operations, strategic planning, finance, marketing, communications, human resources, diversity and workforce development. It is important to include those in the organization who would likely approve, champion and implement any future initiatives as well as those who might resist such initiatives if they are not included early in the planning process.
The planning process is also a key element of success. The planning session needs to be efficient, effective and engaging. This is where the game-board approach has proven very successful in that it allows groups of up to fifty participants to complete a comprehensive organizational assessment, define strategies and brainstorm improvement ideas in as little as two-and-a-half hours. The tool’s standardized content allows benchmarking within and across organizations and the identification of common challenges and best practices.
Finally, having the right perspective is especially critical. Planning is great but doing is better. Participants should walk away from a planning session having achieved consensus on direction and a commitment to action. In addition to a compelling long-term version, the team needs to develop a detailed action plan with clear deliverables, owners, deadlines and performance measures.
So, why should you use a game board for sustainability planning? Because developing your organization’s sustainability strategy is way too important to be left to chance.
How do you strategize about your organization’s sustainability?
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