Ho‘olālā: The Business Planning Process

Within Managing with Aloha we have a name for the Business Planning process familiar to many companies with the ending of one year and beginning of the next: We call it Ho‘olālā. This is the process we recently used in our Volcano Retreat for SLC.

Ho‘olālā means to ‘make plans.’ To make plans is to prepare for moving forward in the best possible way.

Business Planning is when you actually use things like Vision, Values, and Mission – they aren’t things which someone made pretty sentences for in framed art on the walls. In Ho‘olālā they line up and are used like this:

1. First we recommit to a very specific Vision, so everyone is clear on the ultimate objective we are planning FOR. In Ho‘olālā we are only aiming for the immediacy of the coming year, however you still need to ask big and brave questions, and the questions we ask are;

• What will be the best possible outcome of 2007? What is the Vision which will cause us to be at our best and our bravest?
• What EXACTLY will we have accomplished by this time next year? Is it an outrageously beautiful sight to behold? What does it look like, feel like, sound like, taste like?
• Why is it so important to us? Why will it be meaningful to the rest of the world? How will it be BIG?
• Why are we the best people destined to make this Vision happen? What is our responsibility for leadership?

2. Second we revisit our Values. We talk about those values which center our company, serving as our very reliable constancy no matter how much change swirls around us. We re-evaluate the Vision we spoke of previously, asking if it is specific enough and focused enough when filtered through our Values, for if it isn’t we will not have 100% commitment and belief in it.

It is in this part of the process that we reckon with our ethics, our intellectual honesty, and our emotional integrity. Yes, values are that critical.

3. Third we tackle Mission, when and ONLY when our Vision and our Values are in crystal clear, integrity balanced alignment. Vision is what we will do, Values are why we will do it, and now Mission is the step-by-step how and when we’ll get it done. Mission is a collection of key initiatives; they are the sub-projects we’ll dedicate our focused effort toward in the year to come, specifically chosen because they will cause our Vision to happen.

4. Fourth, each one of those sub-projects we collectively call Mission are broken down into their first individual action steps, and those actions are assigned and calendared. We have a master calendar we chart using post-it notes, a different color for each person. They write the actions they’ll commit to owning, and they post them when they guarantee they’ll be completed. We end up with key milestones we call our “Discipline of Deadlines.” The right teams and partnerships are formed for the right reasons in this part of the process; it is quite exciting to watch how they come together so naturally. Everyone knows what everyone else will do and when.

5. Fifth, each person writes their Ho‘ohana, which is a personal and professional individual mission statement connecting their goals to the Vision of the company. The company will not become better unless we individually learn and grow in the process of making it better. Companies aren’t great unless the people within them become great. Remember these questions?

• How will I make a difference every single day, improving the quality of life itself?
• How can I work on only what really matters to me, to us, and to everyone?
• Why is it that this world can’t possibly be a great place without the magic I work?
• Why is it that we are so special, so damned good, and so fanatically courageous?

We work hard during Ho‘olālā; they are not the retreats held during other times of the year where it is mostly team-building, camaraderie and fun. Those things are important too, but they have another time and place. The right people are chosen for Ho‘olālā; they are already a well-functioning team, one which is deeply committed to each other and unconditionally supportive of each other. During Ho‘olālā they celebrate their brilliance, and their passion for the focused work it takes to create lasting legacies.

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Related Articles:
Blending Vision and Mission with the Season
What’s the difference between Mission and Vision?
ROV Coaching: Gain Return on your Values