Striking accord: How to write an effective strategy proposal

Persuading partners to rethink long-established working practices and systems, let alone to vote through funding for it, is not easy. Logical, well thought out and effectively-drafted proposals should find favour. The key to success will be charting a clear and persuasive pathway so that each stakeholder buys into your plans.

Getting started

The purpose of strategic planning is to set overall goals for the business as a whole or for a department or team, and to then develop a plan to achieve those goals. Your strategic plan should be focused on developing mid to longer-term goals, while setting out strategies for achieving them. Your business plan should then set out how you will implement the strategy through a series of short to mid-term steps.

Setting both of these plans into a context that can be easily understood by both partners and other stakeholders is a challenge and should include both rational and emotional buy-in.

So, how should you prepare, research and plan your strategy proposal?
Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom
wasted. Ask yourself some basic questions: why, who, what, when, where and how? The first two questions are the most important because they will get you thinking about your readers and your reasons for writing the strategy proposal.

Next, immerse yourself in research; read and examine all useful background material, including that which opposes your proposal. Talk to stakeholders and those with relevant experience. It is important
to remain entirely objective at this stage; this will enable you to hone your initial ideas as well as to identify potential
new approaches.

Be pragmatic about what can you achieve. Small-scale incremental steps may ultimately provide the changes you seek, rather than a large-scale plan that may attract opposition long before any results materialise. Choose your battles in order to win the war and achieve the objectives of the strategy.

Style and structure

Starting with a blank piece of paper is never easy.

An effective strategy proposal should define exactly what you want to achieve and how you plan to achieve it. To do that, you should consider the following:

• structure – it must be logical and support your overall aims and objectives;

• accuracy – what you write needs to be accurate and pitched appropriately;

• clarity – your writing should be clear and unambiguous so that it is not open to misinterpretation; and

• tone – it should be persuasive and targeted at its intended audience.

Never write a strategy proposal as if
it were a letter of advice or a technical document.

Having organised the content and structure of the proposal, ensure your writing style is appropriate and persuasive. Do not use words that are open to misinterpretation, as that will deflect attention from your proposal and invite diversionary discussions. Use plain English wherever possible and avoid jargon, as the use of ‘management speak’ will alienate your audience.

Introductory section

In one form or another, you will need
to introduce your proposal and engage
the reader.

Your introduction should:

• summarise the rationale and thinking behind the proposal;

• summarise each key aim or objective;

• identify the desired outcomes/results; and

• identify any key timeframes.

Do not write an overly long introduction, as it will lack focus and fail to grab the attention of those who read it. Do however think about adding an executive summary at the start of your document, as it is very useful both for your audience and for you in refining your ideas.

Middle section

The body of the proposal document should contain the justifications for your proposal. You should focus on:

• the rationale and need – set out as fully as possible the thinking behind your proposal and the need to
  take action;

• a vision statement and top-level objectives – create a clear and compelling picture of the desired future position, in order to drive the proposed changes forward;

• the viability – highlight the practicalities of taking the proposed actions and the consequences of doing nothing by using ‘what ifs’, making direct reference to the key consequences of not implementing your proposals;

• the resources required – detail the current resources and any additional resources that will be needed to successfully implement the proposal (including an implementation budget);

• the potential barriers – identify the obstacles that will need to be overcome; and

• the required behavioural changes – identify the behavioural changes that will be necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the proposed strategy.

Consider the issues from the perspective of potential readers – your partners and other relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process (such as the firm’s bank).

You should also consider stakeholders who will not see your strategy proposal document until a later stage (such as during the implementation phase) and the impact of what you are writing on those stakeholders (such as employees, especially if their long-term employment with the firm is at risk after the strategy
is implemented). Anticipate and direct
their attention to specific issues that
will influence them in favour of your proposed strategy.

It is important to provide readers with appropriate information as an ‘evidence base’ for your proposal. Do not overload the body of your proposal with information that can be provided as attachments or appendices.

Concluding section

The conclusion is a necessary part of your proposal document. It should underpin both the introduction and the body of the proposal. A persuasive use of the conclusion directs the attention of the reader to the key next steps, with a clear timeline for decision making. Mapping out these steps shows that you have fully thought through the proposal.

Broader communication

You should also consider how you will communicate the strategy beyond the written plan. Simply emailing your strategy proposal will almost certainly not achieve your objective. You must encourage engagement through a bilateral process.

The most important dialogue will be one-to-ones with key stakeholders, as well as with small groups to elicit feedback. Having listened to their feedback and concerns, you will be in a position to adjust your plan accordingly, enhance its viability and hopefully gain broad acceptance.

At the end of the day, you are likely to ‘speak to your document’ at a team meeting once your partners have had time to read, digest and reflect on what you have written. Keep this meeting in mind
at the outset when you are structuring
and writing your proposal.

When addressing the meeting, consider:

• What does my audience need to know?

• What are my key messages?

• What information conveys these key messages?

• Is there too much information for the audience to digest?

It is useful to review your written strategy proposal with these four questions in mind.

Strength and subtlety

Creators of business proposals can learn from the techniques of classically-trained chefs. When making a sauce, they reduce it to highlight the subtlety of the underlying flavours. The same is true with writing your strategy proposal – you want the strength and subtlety of your key messages
to come through in a palatable and digestible way, and not to be obscured. Reduction is as much of a skill in writing as it is in cooking – you can obscure the message with muddled and ill-thought
out proposals.

Andrew Dines has an MBA in legal practice management from Nottingham Law School and is a consultant and trainer. Alan Pannett is chief executive
at fresh professional development
(www.freshpd.com). They are both co-authors of Key Skills for Professionals, published by Kogan Page (2013)