Rapid start for regional plan essential for success. Rapid and frequent wins are key.

As Ed Morrison writes in his blog http://edpro.blogspot.com/:

"Northern Kentucky announced a regional plan about a year ago. In the interim, civic leaders say they are continuing to build momentum with some quick wins.

This article highlights the balance that any good strategy needs to strike. First, keep strategic outcomes in front of you. These outcomes need to be continuously refined and repeated.

Equally important, focus on next steps: some quick wins that translate ideas into action.

Quick wins provide two important side benefits. They build trust, and they isolate the "nay sayers".

In economies that have slowed down, you frequently find civic entrepreneurs — people who are anxious to try something new — engaging in extended conversations with "soreheads", people who are eternally skeptical about anything changing. Soreheads are all too eager to block or slow down progress.

Quick wins launch a different dynamic that tends to break these unproductive cycles."

A little more than a year after Northern Kentucky unveiled a 10-year strategic plan for the region, Vision 2015 leaders say the community has made an impressive start on carrying out its goals, with 26 projects in various stages of implementation.

By Dan Hassert
Post staff reporter

Full Story: http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070616/NEWS02/706160330/1014