Bold

Even though I argue a bit of the opposite yesterday, I believe the best plans are made in big, bold strokes.

Too much detail and subtlety gets in the way of people understanding the plan, and it slows implementation. Don't immediately start peeling the onion so everyone can marvel in your brilliance. Talk about the plan in big picture terms, let everyone get their arms around it, and later start discussing what it means to the front line.

Of course, this requires a healthy amount of trust in your staff to make reasonable decisions (notice I didn't use "right decisions"). If you have hired bright, resourceful and responsible staff, they should be capable of handling some latitude in the decision making processes of their jobs.

If they can't, either you need different staff or different processes. It really is that simple.

Peter