Kendall L. Stewart, M.D.

It is easy to write an action plan. You’ve dashed off hundreds of them. They sound good. After you’ve read a few, they all start to sound alike. They are well intentioned. They sound like they would work. Once you’ve written it, you can check this box knowing it is unlikely that you or anyone else will ever look at it again.

Creating a customized, innovative action plan is a lot harder. You have to think. Instead of writing down the things you feel like doing, consider what you would do if you were willing to do whatever it took. Forget about the barriers you face for a moment. Suppose you could get everyone’s full cooperation. What would you do then? When brainstorming about what might work, don’t hesitate to consider the most ridiculous options.

1. Specify exactly what you are going to do. Begin by explaining what you have already done. Use short, simple sentences. Focus on behavior instead of intention.

2. Explain how you are going to do it. Break it down into the simplest possible steps.

3. Identify who will do it. When it comes to persuading key stakeholders and opinion leaders, the people who are most effective are those with the best personal relationships with those opinion leaders. These powerful persuaders may be low ranking employees or informal leaders who are not even on your team.

4. Say when you will do it. Ask the responsible leaders whether the timeframes are reasonable. Obtain their commitments that they will execute the plans by that time.

5. Check to make sure it was done. The only action plans that matter are the ones that are executed. We all know how rare real execution it. Go over the task list at every meeting. Check off the tasks you have completed. Ask about the progress others are making. Offer your help while making it clear that you will not stop checking on them until their work is done.

6. Monitor results. The most elegant action plans—even when fully deployed—are worthless if they don’t produce improved results.

How do you encourage the development of action plans that actually work?