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Operational planning

التخطيط التشغيلي

Operational planning as Tareq al-Suwaidan teaches it: a one-year plan for a department or below, in six steps built on his modified SWOT: analysis, goals, SMART goals, means, timeline and agenda, followed by review.

Depth

At a glance

Region
Global / Diaspora

Politics, governance and authority

Summary

Operational planning is the subject of two lessons by Tareq al-Suwaidan in the Leaders' Academy. He presents them as the complement of strategic planning. 1 2 An operational plan usually covers a year, while a strategic plan covers five years or more. Operational planning belongs to a department, section, team or committee. Higher bodies may also have operational plans, but strategic plans belong only to the levels above a department. 3 4 He says the same method serves a single project, such as a student trip, and makes up much of a feasibility study. 4 He teaches it as six steps built on "SWOT, modified the Suwaidan way", in his words. 5 The method and its figures are his teaching.

Step 1: SWOT as he reads it

He says SWOT came from Harvard, then passed through Britain and Egypt to the Arab world, where, in his view, it was misread. 6 7 He rejects the common reading that strengths and weaknesses are internal and opportunities and threats external. For him strengths and weaknesses exist now, inside or outside the organisation. An opportunity is "a positive thing that does not exist, which can be brought about within the period of the plan", and a threat is the negative counterpart. 7 8 The planning team of five to seven writes three to ten strengths and three to ten weaknesses. It writes no more than three opportunities, because beyond three, he says, they become formal rather than real. Threats come last. That gives at least eight points and at most twenty-six. 9 10 11 12

Steps 2 and 3: goals and SMART goals

A goal, in his definition, is "a statement of the result to be achieved, within a quantitative measure and a set date". 13 Turning the analysis into goals is mechanical. Each strength becomes a goal to keep or grow it, each weakness a goal to remedy it, each opportunity a goal to seize it, and each threat a goal to guard against it. That is why, he says, half the work of SWOT lies in the first step. 14 15 16 Each goal is then made SMART: specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-bound. 17 18 He says the "A" he learned in America means agreed between the planner and the person who carries out the goal. He calls the Arab reading of it as "achievable" an error. 19 20 Realistic means hard but possible. 21 His worked example turns "improving human resources" into "training seventy employees on four basic computer courses within six months". 22

Step 4: means

Means are the procedures and activities that reach a goal. "Every goal is a goal for the one who carries it out, but a means for the leadership," he says, and means too must be SMART. 23 24 25 He names their sources: one's own experience; competitors' methods, copied and changed by at least fifteen per cent; serious books and references; visits to advanced organisations; and creativity. 25 26 27 He warns that without fresh sources, methods in Islamic work, such as a curriculum or a structure, can come to be treated as sacred by habit. 28 Each goal gets its own page with four columns: the means, who carries it out, the deadline and the cost. 29 30 Details are left to those who carry it out. 31

Steps 5 and 6: timeline and agenda

The timeline gives one page to each month. Every means is copied under its month, with a column marked "done" for follow-up. 32 33 34 The load is spread over the year, lighter in summer and Ramadan. Monthly follow-up checks the past month and the coming one. 35 36 The agenda gives one page to each person or unit, built from the timeline. He keeps these pages on his phone to see who is working. 37 38 He warns that in the end every other sheet is set aside; only the timeline and the agenda remain. 39

Revision and criticism

On people he quotes Jack Welch's rule from his 2005 book "Winning". Each year staff are sorted into the effective twenty per cent, to be rewarded; the middle seventy, to be trained; and the bottom ten, to be let go. 40 41 He frames dismissal with a reminder that the employer is not the provider of anyone's livelihood. 42 A twenty-year strategic plan, he says, gets a quick review every year and a full review every five. Next year's operational plan is begun at the start of the current year and approved within about three months. 43 44 45 He then sets out criticisms of planning, citing Henry Mintzberg's "The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning" (1994): that it kills creativity, assumes a stable world, can be ignored by a new leader, and is resisted by those who hold the money. 46 47 His answer is that planning is a tool in the leader's hand: "planning does not make the failure succeed, but it helps the successful". 48

Connections

Explore the connections

Subject of
Akadimiyyat I'dad al-Qada, the Academy for Preparing Leaders (filmed training course)

People and things also explored

Leadership and the leader's six roles· Situational leadership· Power and influence (Tareq al-Suwaidan)· Vision and mission in strategic planning· Strategic planning· Teamwork and running meetings· Life management and choosing one's field· Key performance indicators (KPI)

Sources

  1. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:02:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  2. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:02:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  3. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:03:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  4. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:03:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  5. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:04:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  6. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:06:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  7. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:08:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  8. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:10:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  9. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:13:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  10. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:14:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  11. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:16:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  12. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:19:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  13. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:20:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  14. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:21:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  15. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:23:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  16. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:25:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  17. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:27:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  18. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:29:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  19. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:33:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  20. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:35:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  21. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:37:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  22. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:40:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  23. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:42:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  24. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:44:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  25. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:45:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  26. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:47:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  27. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:48:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  28. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 17, at 00:45:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  29. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:03:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  30. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:05:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  31. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:11:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  32. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:12:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  33. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:14:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  34. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:16:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  35. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:17:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  36. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:18:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  37. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:19:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  38. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:22:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  39. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:13:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  40. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:23:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  41. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:24:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  42. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:26:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  43. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:34:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  44. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:35:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  45. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:36:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  46. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:36:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  47. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:37:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  48. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Leadership Development Academy 1, episode 18, at 00:43:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Operational planning”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-takhtit-al-tashghili/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-07.

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Leadership and the leader's six roles

Leadership in Tareq al-Suwaidan's teaching: the ability to move people toward a goal; the leader works only in six roles — planning, innovation, building key relationships, solving chronic problems, developing himself and others, and appreciation — everything else is management, delegated.