Assessing Your Company's Strategic Planning Process
Once an organization has established a healthy company culture and has developed a sound base by addressing many of its operational issues such as marketing, financials, human resources, and management then it is time to look at developing a Strategic Vision and Strategic Plan that will guide the organization into the future, achieving a consistent pattern of sustainable growth. This is accomplished by analyzing the organization and establishing processes, including action plans tied to long-term goals and objectives. Review the questions below and if your organization would like more information on the strategic planning process, give us a call we can help.
Why does your company need a Strategic Plan? +
A strategic plan consists of a ‘game plan’ with the goal of sustainability and growth for the business. It is used to define your market, identify the talent you need to succeed, and pull together the operational objectives of the entire organization. Having a strategic plan in place is essential when the economy shifts. Trying to establish and implement a strategic plan during troubling economic times is twice as difficult for your organization then it is to ask your organization to shift gears within an established strategic plan to take advantage of what a slower economy may offer.
How important is your ‘competitive advantage’ within your strategic planning? +
An important goal of a strategic plan is to identify the competitive advantage of your products and/or services and using that information to differentiate your organization within the markets you occupy. This is accomplished by setting your products and services apart from your rivals and establishing a customer base that prefers to buy your products and services on a regular basis.
Have you defined your organization’s business model? +
An organization’s business model is defined by how the company delivers value to it’s customers in a profitable manner. A strategic plan must be inline with the organization’s plan for making money, its mission and values, and it must contribute to improving the organization’s performance. This is accomplished by crafting a proactive and reactive strategy throughout your organization.
A Strategic Vision is different from your company’s Mission Statement as a mission statement typically focuses on who you are, what your business will become, how you will get there, and why you are in business. A Strategic Vision will focus on your company’s long range goals, the future make-up of your company, and improving your company performance. It is important that your Strategic Vision of your organization aligns with your company’s values and beliefs.
Who should be involved from your organization in developing a Strategic Plan? +
Developing a strategic plan is a top-down process that should include board members (if you have a board), trusted advisors (if you have them), key members of the organization’s operational, financial, manufacturing, and sales management team. The process is lead by the top executive and other senior management who focus on three areas; business strategies, functional strategies, and operational strategies. If an organization has multiple locations a fourth umbrella strategy is added; a corporate strategy.
What is the difference between Business, Functional, and Operating strategies? +
A Business Strategy determines the strength of the market position of your company and uses your completive advantages to create processes to improve the overall company performance. A Functional Strategy provides a game plan for senior management with oversight responsibility for particular operational departments that support the overall Business Strategy. The Operating Strategy provides managers of key operational departments such as purchasing, advertising, inventory control, and maintenance with tools such as the balanced scorecard to achieve their department or areas operating goals which support the overall Business Strategy.
What tools are needed to track and measure the results of a Strategic Plan? +
Communication is one of the most important tools an organization has in their tool box. Explaining to your employees how the organization’s new Strategic Vision aligns with your company culture and how it works to accomplish the company’s mission and long range goals is a crucial part of a successful implementation plan. Surveying your employees and having them ask themselves, “What can I do in my department to accomplish my part of the overall strategic plan, and what do I need to do to get started?” Another of those tools is the balanced scorecard as mentioned before, others are, a SWOT analysis, a value chain analysis, industry benchmarking, and a competitive strength assessment. There are more tools available but these are a few of the most common.
How do you know when your organization’s Strategic Plan has been successful? +
By establishing strategic goals and objectives which are tracked and measured an organization can see where it’s strategic and financial performances are compared to its targeted goals and objectives. This is accomplished on the front end by establishing a collaborative environment throughout the culture of the organization and by enforcing accountability with management holding them responsible for implementing action plans that support the Strategic Vision of your company.
