Strategic Plans

Strategic Plans: An Overview

And Why Having a Comprehensive Plan Helps Ensure Success

Developing a strategic plan allows organizations to progress toward their intended future state, or “end game.” Achieving desired goals and objectives are realized to establish and execute projects. Strategic planning, more than anything else, is responsible for guiding a company on the right path, and the plan itself is an essential ‘map’ to help keep your stakeholders on this path in order to achieve your corporate goals.

Stakeholder Buy-In and Approaches Towards Success

Strategic planning is a creative process that begins with the owner’s or CEO’s imaginative creativity. This overview of the process should help you in creating your plan.

Obtaining buy-in from all relevant stakeholders is critical to effectively executing a strategic strategy. It is essential to incorporate key individuals from throughout the organization.

There are many approaches to ensure that corporate behavior changes as a consequence of the strategic planning process:

  1. It is necessary to establish specific real-world goals. A simple example might be changing your pricing plan, while a more complex one would be setting up a new operation outside of your present geographical market region.
  2. The goals should be explicit so that there is no uncertainty regarding what is needed. In an ideal situation, the plan would not consider becoming an “Employer of Choice” (EOC). However, the goal should be to become an EOC by identifying particular projects completed by a specified date to achieve this status. Exceptions will, of course, be made if there is information that has to be gathered before a given objective can be completed.
  3. Expect that time and personal responsibility should be established for each target during the action planning process. In an ideal situation, each essential endeavor should be overseen by a single employee who reports to the company’s management team.

It is impossible to succeed unless you can persuade individuals to believe in the strategic process of change management. As a result, a “Roll Out Process” and a Core Strategy Statement understood by all levels of personnel are essential.

Methodology of the Chief Executive Officer and Strategist

Here are the 6 key components of a successful business plan:

  1. The Big Picture – A Mission / Vision for the Future.
  2. Critical Core Values (also known as “core initiatives”) (CCIs)
  3. SWOT – A framework to assist employees develop the strategic business plan
  4. Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics – Strategic Implementation Plans (SIPs)
  5. Measurements – KPI’s to evaluate success or failure and ensure accountability
  6. Contingency Plans – Even the best laid plans sometimes encounter unexpected events.

In business, the “End Game” articulates what it means to win the game in your particular industry. What is a winner? When you’ve seen one end game, you’ve seen them all. Every strategic planning end game is distinct, unique to the company, and unique to the person who developed it. The end game may be as basic as a statement about the character and integrity of the company, or it can be as thorough and sophisticated as specifying particular business segment development with specific financial targets selected and associated dates. Contrary to the meaning of the word “End Game,” the “End Game” is the commencement of a long-term strategic planning process.

Strategic Implementation Plans (SIPs)

Each Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) is also assigned to a specific individual. This role may be allocated on an annual basis at the discretion of management. When it comes to completing the agreed-upon action steps and adjustments, the owner must see that they are completed within the agreed-upon time limit. According to the organizational structure, each owner will be answerable to the President or another top-level executive for SIP accountability. It must be well known that, after the strategic plan has been approved, separate departmental segment business plans must be prepared as the tactical component of this process.

Strategic Planning Implementation Process

Make no doubt about it. Employees are in charge of carrying out the strategy. Communication with workers that promotes awareness of what the organization is attempting to accomplish is critical to bringing employees on board and encouraging them to exert the effort necessary to achieve success. During this procedure, the primary focus must be on answering the age-old question, “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM). Employees must understand that adding value and success to the firm adds value and success to their own lives.

Strategic Planning Vision

Creating a simpler version of the strategic planning “Vision” that all employees can understand is a crucial goal of the rollout process. This is often accomplished by developing a strategy theme, sometimes known as a “Core Strategy Statement.” Nike, for example, employs the phrase “Just Do It” not just for commercial reasons but has also been used to foster an internal success culture at the company’s headquarters. One CEO Strategist client refers to their strategic objective as PRIDE (Project for Responsible Innovation and Development).

“It’s more than a goal —- it’s a way of life at our Company,” says the CEO.

Professionalism – Dependability – Innovation – Dedication – Excellence

The rollout process must explicitly describe what this implies to the employee.

Conclusion
In conclusion, strategic planning fosters a winning team culture, essential for success. Working well with others is not a given. An intentional effort, as well as the formation of a culture that is supported by senior management, are required.

Contact Mark Richards.