Strategic planning season is upon us.

That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad news: Most strategic plans fail.

These plans rarely fail because of misguided strategy or a lack of good ideas. If anything, organizations have a bad habit of putting too many good ideas in their plans.

Most plans fail because of problems related to execution. There are too many non-essential initiatives. There’s confusion around roles and responsibilities. Failure to follow-through is a perennial problem, and lack of accountability is everywhere.

My book Lead The Way outlines a simple planning process and a straightforward approach to its execution. The strategic plans that I help organizations develop make it very clear Who will do What by When. There’s also clarity around rewards and, yes, penalties.

You can download for free a fast, simple, one-page planning template I developed called a Migration Chart™ to serve as a roadmap as you and your organization move, or “migrate,” from your current situation to an ideal future outcome.

A simple plan will drive high performance.

So keep your plan simple, because execution is not easy.