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JACKIE STAVROS, DAVID COOPERRIDER, AND D. LYNN KELLEY

SOAR

A New Approach to Strategic Planning

With our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities!

—Sue Ebaugh

Real-Life Story

Faced with mounting challenges for profitability as a Tier 1 automotive supplier, a program manager used SOAR™ to create a strategic planning process. He recalls:

Orbseal Technology Center relocated to Michigan to form a closer working relationship with customers. I was confident SOAR would create a strategy to drive growth.

I wanted to do an inquiry into our values and strengths to discover what we do best and to imagine the best possible future by creating a guiding vision statement. We needed a documented direction and purpose to allow for a deeper understanding of our core strengths and to design strategic initiatives for growth. We didn’t need to identify weaknesses—we knew these. We needed to be innovative and inspire others to action—to SOAR!

This decision was unanimously supported by his team. The VP traveled from headquarters to be part of this strategic planning event. This approach made the VP curious about how the three divisions would work together.

PHASE ONE: INQUIRY

During this phase, the Orbseal team identified four areas to explore: adaptive processes and people, dedicated employees, positive environment, and strong product core.

PHASE TWO: IMAGINE

They created the following:

• Values: dedication, flexibility, creativity, team spirit, and continuous communications

• Vision: To be a diverse and global leader providing best-in-class engineering; noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH); sealant; and adhesive solutions with unsurpassed sales and service.

PHASE THREE: INNOVATE

Strengths and opportunities were developed into meaningful aspirations. The team engaged in dialogue about initiatives, markets, strategies, structure, and processes. Two strategic statements were created:

• We are hardworking, flexible employees who design, sell, and service cost-effective and innovative engineering, NVH, and sealant solutions that are value added to our original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

• We provide a safe, positive environment conducive to creativity that attracts and retains best employees.

These became part of the center’s strategy—the “how”—to achieve measurable results. Then, the team produced a tactical plan with action-oriented activities.

PHASE FOUR: INSPIRED

The team identified its aspirations to drive them to results. This phase encompassed shared dialogue on the best way to implement and sustain a collective sense of purpose—mission statement and attainment.

The VP left with an objective to complete the SOAR approach with the 400 employees at the corporate office. He stated:

The process went beyond my expectations because three divisions became bound-aryless and came together to co-create the future. Everyone was heard and everyone has a stake. Now we have a strategic action plan to best move forward.

A team member shared his feelings about SOAR:

I’ve been with Orbseal for one year and this allowed me to openly share what I believe we can be! It was nice to hear that others have similar aspirations. I feel connected to this team.

Today, a continuous improvement mind-set now drives the culture at Orbseal.

The Basics

WHAT IS SOAR?

SOAR is an innovative, strength-based approach to strategic planning and invites the whole system (stakeholders) into the process. This approach integrates Appreciative Inquiry (AI) with a strategic planning framework to create a transformational process that inspires organizations to SOAR.

The SOAR framework goes beyond the original AI 4-D model¹ to link the concepts (figure 1). This framework, using AI principles, transforms the traditional strategic planning SWOT model (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) into SOAR and accelerates the strategic planning efforts by focusing directly on those elements that will give life energy to the organization’s future. The AI Principle of Relational Awareness builds dynamic and sustainable relationships among stakeholders.²

Figure 1. SOAR: What We Do and How We Do It

WHEN AND WHERE IS SOAR USED?

SOAR can be used whenever the strategic planning process is done to complete environmental scanning; revisit or create organizational values, vision, and mission; formulate strategy, strategic plans, and tactical plans; and bring about transformational change. This framework has been used in for-profit and nonprofit settings: education, manufacturing, service, health care, automotive, pharmaceutical, and banking at the corporate and strategic business unit level. The first clients to use SOAR in their strategic planning efforts were Roadway, Tendercare, Textron Fastening Systems, Positive Change Corps, Utah Education Association, and CASE University.

WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES?

SOAR has been used in four-hour to three-day planning sessions. Participants learn to:

• identify the positive core of the organization (strengths and opportunities)

• obtain clarity of values, vision, and mission to align with initiatives, strategies, and action plans

• plan, design, and facilitate a whole-system strategic planning session

• identify measurements that drive performance

Participants have achieved improved results in:

• productivity and sales

• communications—continuous and open

Figure 2. Summarization of SOAR

• morale and attrition rates

• goal attainment

HOW DOES SOAR WORK?

To achieve a strategic impact, this approach integrates AI, Dialogue, and the whole systems approach with a framework that builds upon an organization’s positive core to SOAR. By focusing on Strengths and Opportunities, organizations can reach their Aspirations (desired outcomes) with measurable Results by:

1. Inquiring into strength and opportunities;

2. Imagining the best pathway to sustainable growth;

3. Innovating to create the initiatives, strategies, structure, systems, and plans; and

4. Inspiring action-oriented activities that achieve results (figure 2).

Table of Uses

About the Authors

Jackie Stavros ([email protected]) is professor at Lawrence Technological University. She coauthored Dynamic Relationships: Unleashing the Power of Appreciative Inquiry in Daily Living and Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. Her clients include: ERIM International, Tendercare, General Motors, and Girl Scouts USA.

David Cooperrider ([email protected]) is professor and director for Business as Agent World Benefit (BAWB) at CASE University. He coauthored Advances in Appreciative Inquiry: Constructive Discourse in Human Organizations and Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. His clients include: Roadway, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, United Nations, and GTE.

D. Lynn Kelley ([email protected]) is responsible for enterprise-wide global programming in Six Sigma and Integrated Supply Chain at Textron University.

Where to Go for More Information

REFERENCES

Stavros, J., D. Cooperrider, and L. Kelley. “Strategic Inquiry with Appreciative Intent: Inspiration to SOAR!” AI Practitioner: AI and Strategy (November 2003).

Sutherland, J., and J. Stavros. “The Heart of Appreciative Strategy.” AI Practitioner: AI and Strategy (November 2003).

INFLUENTIAL SOURCES

Cooperrider, D., D. Whitney, and J. Stavros. Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. Bedford Heights, OH, and San Francisco: Lakeshore Communications and Berrett-Koehler Communications, 2003.

Stavros, J., and C. Torres. Dynamic Relationships Unleashing the Power of Appreciative Inquiry in Daily Living. Lima, OH: Fairway Press, 2005.

ORGANIZATION

Dynamic Relationships—www.dynamic-relationships.com

1. The model is Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny. Visit AI Commons: http://ai.cwru.edu.

2. This principle calls us to be reflective and actively engaged to move a system forward in a positive direction. For more information, visit: www.dynamic-relationships.com.