Baldrick had a cunning plan, Micheal Scott had a 45 point 45 day plan, and the A Team loved it when a plan came together. When things go badly wrong organisations draw up an Action Plan. But is that the best or even the most appropriate
They call them action plans it sounds better than a “ to do list”, is more likely to get done than a ” wish list”, is more acceptable than a “ should have done years ago” list. But it is a list, a list of what is to be done, by when and by whom. The longer the list the more impressive. The shorter the time scales the more serious the intension.
In my experience Act Plans in response to critical audits , damaging inspections reports and major investigations rarely achieve meaningful and lasting change. In part this is due to the “real” motivation behind drawing up the Action Plan. Such plans are as much an exercise in being seen to do something as a determined efforts to address the real and often long standing issues. This is because privately the organisation ( board/ senior management team) doesn’t accept the criticism believing it to be harsh, exaggerated and failing to take proper account of circumstances. More Senior management time and effort is spent preparing, presenting and defending progress reports than in working on the action points. Time scales slip and The Plans are usually overtaken by events and changes in circumstances long before they achieve their stated aims.
Does the organisation need a document with hundreds of action points or does it need a Revolution. Can the board accept this is not a few bad apples but a problem with the culture of the organisation? Can the board see that this was not just an unfortunate isolated incident but an inevitable consequence of their policies and financial decisions? Can the board recognise that the relationship between them and their senior managers is dysfunctional? Is The Plan a detailed response to criticism and a sop to recommendations or a genuine desire to make the type of fundamental changes that will forever change the culture of the organisation?
A good example of an organisation making a fundamental change rather than a 45 point Action Plan was the disbanding of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 2001. The organisation’s membership was overwhelmingly Protestant with a history of brutality and discrimination resulting in a loss of confidence in the force’s ability to police fairly by the Catholic minority.
It may seem drastic to disband the organisation but sometimes the problems are so deep seated the only way is to start a fresh.
Blair Mcpherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
