April 2024- Strategic Planning
Strategic planning isn’t just a business process anymore, it has become a business itself. Millions of dollars are spent annually, by businesses and individuals, on a myriad of new books, training courses, certifications, seminars, and consultants promoting the “the next big thing”. The overabundance of information and extraordinary number of methods and tools complicates strategic planning for some organizations.
Strategic planning is a fundamental business process used to guide an organization in a specific direction. It’s not hard and should not be overly complex for your organization.
Summarized in a single sentence: Strategic Planning is a business process used for assessing an organization’s position; establishing goals; creating a plan to achieve those goals; allocating resources; and evaluating success.
Consider these six fundamentals for helping keep your organizations planning focused and successful:
Method – There are many strategic planning methods; choose one and execute it correctly. Avoid self-appointed experts weighing in, confusing the process with something they read or “the way we did it at my last organization”.
Approach – Planning is holistic and considers all aspects of the organization. A cross-departmental team is ideal for planning when able. Strategic planning should not be done by one department, built from one perspective, and then “forced” on the organization.
Formality – The process is deliberate. There should be organizational doctrine on why you strategically plan, how it’s done, and who leads it. It should be a calendar event with resources allocated.
Evaluation - The plan must include various ways to measure it (i.e., productivity ratios, cost reduction data, sales generation, etc.). A deliberate schedule for evaluating these measures is necessary to compare data over time and make changes if necessary.
Discipline – This is a common pitfall. Be disciplined with the plan and avoid chasing “something shiny”. Deviating from the plan makes it hard to measure it during the periodic evaluations.
Leadership – Leadership drives planning success. Leadership must be actively involved, providing guidance, and clarifying intent.
