An Excellence Agenda Conceptual Model

In a discussion with a colleague recently, I started sketching a conceptual model of An Excellence Agenda.  I decided to turn it into a proper slide that can be shared in presentations.  So here it is.

An Excellence Agenda is a high level umbrella that articulates an outcome oriented mandate that describes the enduring status that an organization wishes to maintain.  This approach allows for the inclusion of high order outcomes, guiding principles and values, and the ability to link the mandate of an organization to an implementation and performance framework.

There are two sub-agendas:  the Sustaining Agenda and the Change Agenda.  The implementation of these agendas is guided by the Strategic Plan, which provides the linkage between the goals and implementation priorities of the two parallel agendas.  The Strategic Plan articulates clear goals and objectives and is time based.

The Sustaining Agenda represents the "meat and potatoes" business of any organization or company.  These are the activities that deliver the day to day outputs that contribute to the ongoing development of the Excellence Agenda.  The Sustaining Agenda is guided by the Mission, the key executive role is management, and there are specific business/operational plans that management uses to monitor progress.

The Change Agenda represents the initiatives that are required to move the organization forward.  The Change Agenda is guided by the Vision, the key executive role is a leadership role, and there are project plans that management uses to monitor progress.

The foundational base is the Performance Measurement Framework or Strategy that gathers the data, and does the analysis to tell the performance story of all three Agendas and the progress on the Strategic Plan. The PMF is the glue that binds the whole process together.

What makes the Excellence Agenda different from a Strategic Plan is that the Excellence Agenda provides a rigour in the identification of the enduring outcomes that an organization is mandated to contributes to.  This is bedrock.  The Strategic Plan will be updated over time.  Activities and outputs in the Sustaining Agenda and the Change Agenda will undergo regular updates but will always contribute to the Outcomes in the Excellence Agenda.

The Excellence Agenda, with the Performance Measurement Framework are the enduring pieces of the "sandwich".  The filler of the Sustaining and Change Agendas can be modified to fit the menu - but the bread is always the same!