Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header about About Home Profiles articles Tools forums inspirational quotes About facebook Twitter YouTube Blog
Share for a Cause











8 Steps to Boost the ROI of Your Strategic Planning Efforts

Guest post by: Joe Evans

Article Overview: Studies suggest that 90% of all corporate strategic planning efforts fail to deliver the intended result. In fact, the average ROI on most strategic planning initiatives is 34% or less. What’s more, one-third of companies that are now at the top of their fields will no longer hold that position three years from now. What’s wrong with this picture? How can so many smart CEOs deliver strategies that fail?

Free Download - How Well Do You Understand Your Organization’s Core Competencies? By Joe Evans
Name: Email:

8 Steps to Boost the ROI of Your Strategic Planning Efforts

Studies suggest that 90% of all corporate strategic planning efforts fail to deliver the intended result. In fact, the average ROI on most strategic planning initiatives is 34% or less. What’s more, one-third of companies that are now at the top of their fields will no longer hold that position three years from now.

What’s wrong with this picture? How can so many smart CEOs deliver strategies that fail?

According to many experts, blame rests less with strategy and more so with implementation. Simply put, too many strategic plans fail to consider the resources, coordination, and management necessary to achieve the planned outcome. In addition to implementation, other reasons for these failures include:

So, how can organizations improve the odds of success and boost the ROI of their strategic planning efforts?

The Texas-based corporate strategic planning company I founded, Method Frameworks, devised a proprietary corporate planning process called Plan4. This process consistently delivers 140% or more ROI by providing an inextricable link between strategy and implementation.

The remainder of this article summarizes 8 key components of the Plan4 process that you can use to boost the ROI of your strategic planning efforts:

1: Understand your organization, holistically.
In planning initiatives, it is common for decisions to be made at one level of the organization that deeply affect the whole enterprise or at least specific areas of the organization. When you understand the entire ecosystem of your organization you will gain a formal understanding of how parts of the organization interact, act, and respond to change. This understanding will make it possible to evaluate the likely consequences, risks, and outcomes of your strategic decisions.

2: Create a shared vision.
Visioning is based on the premise that “what you can see, you can achieve.” Visioning gives the organization a greater sense of purpose and allows individuals to personalize the purpose, thereby increasing the likelihood of success. Envisioning workshops, visual facilitation, and 3-D modeling are techniques that can be used to help individuals clearly answer the question, “What will be realized by the company and the team if we meet our objectives?” The resulting vision creates a powerful platform for change.

3: Valuate your opportunities.
With limited energy and resources available to most any organization, it pays to know the value that can be expected when a targeted goal is achieved. Mathematical models can be used to create relative values for each of the key outcomes your team has defined in the visioning phase. The mathematical model selected for the organization should be matched to your organization’s cultural aspect.

4: Prioritize and justify.
If you’ve used appropriate mathematical models to place accurate values on defined opportunities, you can then justify and prioritize the opportunities with the highest value. Once complete, you should translate these desired outcomes using controlled vocabulary that eliminates bias and misinterpretation. In other words, use language that clearly describes and defines the planning goals so that members of the organization know what’s expected.

5: Create initial plans.
A defining value of a high-value planning process is the ability of the organization to continually address the operations of the organization while planning takes place. Creating initial plans allows the organization to begin to move forward in a defined direction in anticipation of more detailed plans. During initial planning, you should calculate organizational acceleration to measure how much your team believes can be accomplished in a given timeframe based on past performance. These calculations will also enable you to create advanced estimates of time, resources, and costs.

6: Create detailed plans.
If you’ve completed your initial plans and your organization is beginning to move in a defined direction, detailed planning can commence. But first, you should ensure that any estimates you had created during initial planning are firmly based in reality. Look at your acceleration estimates to realistically assess the initial timelines that were created. In detailed planning, focus your energy on the most important deliverable, which is an advance 12-month plan, created at varying levels of detail, with the greatest level of detail is focused on the first three months, less in the next three, less in the next three, and so on. Construct multi-year plans similarly.

7: Create benefits and personas.
Have you ever asked the individuals in lower levels of your organization to define what it is the organization hopes to accomplish this quarter or this year? Did their answers surprise you? If so, try creating an “elevator pitch” or benefit statement to define the outcome your plan is intended to bring. Also, use personas to bring a customer-focused picture and perspective to those who are tasked with executing the strategic plan. Personas can help individuals connect what they are doing with the end receiver who will benefit from the resulting value.

8: Provide program-level planning and governance.
This truly is where “the rubber meets the road” and a key component of any high-returning strategic plan. For an organization to succeed at the highest levels, plan goals and supporting initiatives must be managed through effective oversight at the corporate and operational levels. Effective governance enables organizations to manage the interrelationships of all the underlying initiatives, considering dependency relationships and constraints on resources. All programs and their underlying projects should be managed and harvested for metrics and progress reporting to bring continual improvement to the planning cycle.

In the end, a strategic planning process that includes strategic implementation is the only way to boost ROI and increase your chances of success. To set your organization in the right direction, follow the advice outlined here and seek guidance from an operational strategic planning firm with a proven track record.

* * *

Join the Strategic Planning Xchange group.



Method Frameworks is a corporate strategic planning company known for its proprietary planning process, Plan4SM. Plan 4 consistently delivers 140% or more ROI to the company’s enterprise clients. Contact Method Frameworks at 877-317-5264 (877-31PLAN4) or visit www.methodframeworks.com to request a meeting with a planning consultant.

Related Articles
  “A Major Communication Tip For Successful Strategic Planning – Provide Definitions of Major Strategic Planning Terms As You Begin”
  “The Top Ten Reasons Strategic Planning Meetings Fail, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  “Eight Key Characteristics For A Strategic Planning Facilitator, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  12 Strategic Questions To Ask Before Starting New Marketing Activity, From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Strategy: A Process and a Journey or Just a Way of Thinking?
  Never Just Sit There or Stand There When It Comes To Your Marketing Efforts
  “Ten Strategic Marketing Actions To Ensure Success In Your New Year, From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  Clearing Up The Myths About Strategic Thinking and Planning
  Strategic Planning Must Include a Strategic Action Plan Filled with WAY SMART Goals
  Strategic Thinking What Does It Really Mean
  Strategic Thinking Planning Success Story
  More on Strategic Planning What Do You Think
  How to crystalize business growth options through Strategic Planning
  “Seven Reasons Why You Need A Strategic Planning Facilitator, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  Year End Strategic Planning - To Plan or Not to Plan - That is the Question\"
  A Strategic Approach To Planning For A New Business Year – Ask Your Clients Questions
  “Ten More Benefits From Strategic Planning, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach Ten More Benefits From Strategic Planning, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  Checklist for Setting up a Strategic Plan -- To Win
  What Is Strategic Business Planning?
  Strategic Planning

Home > Management > Joe Evans > 8 Steps to Boost the ROI of Your Strategic Planning Efforts >
Article Tags: ceos that fail, corporate strategic planning, strategic planning process
Referred by: http://www.imageworksstudio.com/

About the Author: Joe Evans
RSS for Joe's articles - Visit Joe's website

Joe Evans serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Method Frameworks.  

Method Frameworks provides management consulting services to commercial enterprises with strategic and operational planning solutions using the firm’s proprietary Plan4 process. Visit Method Frameworks at www.methodframeworks.com.

Joe is a published author, frequent speaker and recognized expert in co rporate strategic planning.  To contact Method Frameworks about scheduling Mr. Evans about an upcoming speaking engagement, visit www.methodframeworks.com/business-speaker or email requests to media_relations@methodframeworks.com.

Want more corporate strategic planning insights? Read Joe's blog.  Also, request to join the "Strategic Planning Xchange" now by following this link to the Strategic Planning Xchange.



Click here to visit Joe's website Dashed Line

More from Joe Evans
Would Your Strategic Planning Process Survive Reality TV
Opportunity Valuation Gives Direction to Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning Business Executive Essentials Part 9 of 12
Why You Should Not Hire a Management Consulting Firmat least not yet
Are We There Yet


Related Forum Posts
Different Hats Different Hats - CEO Sales & Marketing & Leadership Development Company Strategic Vision 10 Alliances & Growth Strategies 10 Hiring & Managing People 8 Mentoring 8-9 Strategic Planning for Clients 10 Execution of Marketing Campaigns 9-10 (i have great people who do the nitty gritty) Financial Management 9 Bookkeeping 3 (outsourced as I really hate the fine details like GST0 Administrative Follow Up 6-7 (again have great staff) Writing & Publishing 9 (getting better all the time!) Speaking 10 (so I have been told) Self Promotion 9-10 Web development & Promotion 6-7 (learning more and have brought on players who are 10+) Babysitting Employees (1 - wont do it, that's why I work so hard to hire and motivate the people I have) Great topic Kevin!! Jude
HRPreneur HRPreneur - Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and I recently started my own Human Capital (HR) consulting firm called HRPreneur Inc. HRP focuses on making human capital a strategic differentiator for SME's. Below is a summary about HRP; Who We Are: HRP is a Human Capital consulting firm with 30 years of experience that becomes an extension of your company by providing a full array of services to help you create a highly engaged workforce focused on achieving strategic results in order to build a long lasting great company! Mission: HRP provides small and medium sized businesses a Strategic HR Business Partner to increase employee engagement, resulting in cost savings, increased productivity and results at an affordable rate! Vision: To inspire and warrant SME's reach their full competency! Cost Effectiveness: We provide over 30 years of experience at a fraction of the cost at a strategic executive HR business level You will save between 50% to 60% in costs per year on salary, bonus, benefits, training, office space alone We will provide you additional cost efficiencies through our services Services: • Strategic Human Resources Planning • Organizational Redesign • Change Management • Organizational Culture Development • Employee Engagement Programs • Leadership Assessment and Development • Compensation Design • Talent Acquisition • Assimilation and On-Boarding • Performance Management • Talent Management & Succession Planning • Human Resources Due Diligence • Human Resources Audit • Full Service HR Outsourcing
Re: How do you make the most of your day? Re: How do you make the most of your day? - Planning, To Do lists, and deadlines all help me. Also being self critical of my own time management helps me raise the bar. I still check email too often though.
Re: Essential Leadership skills Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert
Re: Success Re: Success - I think it was Gary Player who said the harder I practice the luckier I become when it came to his success as a world class golfer. Planning and dedication to a task can make all the difference between success and failure. MichelleJ


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article

Bottom Footer



Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

SEO Gurus, Software and Ebooks

Small Business Internet Marketing

••••••>SEO Tip Of The Day: HTML Validation
Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.