Strategic planning done right - otherwise, why do it
There are 3 types of companies:
those who are required to have a strategic plan (for accreditation or certification)
those who aren’t required to have one, but do
those who aren’t required to have one, and don’t
Too often we are too busy to spend time on strategy. If you have a generally good sense of where you are headed, and you have a lot on our plate already, chances are strategic planning will get delegated to an overworked team or moved to the bottom of the list of priorities.
Do you have to have a strategic plan?
What is the purpose of a strategic plan? Simply put, a strategic plan provides an organization something to shoot for other than, ‘let’s grow’.
Done right, a strategic plan will define how to grow, when to grow, in what areas, and who is accountable for the growth. It gives added structure to a desire or a goal or a vision. And that structure improves the odds of accomplishing that desire, goal, or vision.
Done right, a strategic plan includes metrics – those things you can measure to tell you if you are on track with the plan. You must Inspect what you Expect. There is no point in setting something in motion if a) you aren’t sure where you might end up and b) you have no way of checking in to see if you are headed there.
Done right, the plan will make sense to the organization. Employees will not only understand the anticipated outcomes of executing the plan, but they will also both be able to articulate the plan and demonstrate how they contribute to the plan.
In other words, done right, you will engage the right stakeholders (solicit from those impacted by the plan) in the design of the plan and communicate early and often during the execution of the plan so any course corrections, if needed, can be made in a timely fashion. And accomplishments can be rewarded and celebrated as they happen, not at the end.
Done right, there really is no end. The Strategic Planning process is cyclical and ongoing and includes frequent and thorough reviews by those accountable. Strategic Planning is NOT just a once-every-5-years’ event, a check in the box, or a document to be filed away.
Probably most importantly, Strategic Planning must part of the DNA of the leadership team – they must own it. Strategic Planning can be a differentiator - it can keep you ahead of your competition - so commit to it.
If you are in the business of creating wealth or making the world a better place, why wouldn’t you do Strategic Planning right? It isn’t easy to do, with everything else you likely have going on, but it is worth it to get as close to done right as you can.
For a simple template to get started, check out our Tools and Templates post titled Strategy Articulation Map.
If your superpower is building strategic plans but you fall short of execution, check out our Insights post titled A practical approach to solving every leader’s #1 challenge – executing for results.
