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In Corporate Strategic Planning, Be Ready to Prioritize and Justify
| Guest post by: Joe Evans |
Article Overview: So much has been written about the importance of setting priorities. Whether in time management or corporate strategic planning, the point remains: We must know our priorities and focus on the projects and opportunities that represent our highest priorities. The saying, “Do your best and forget the rest” is applicable in more than one way. Focus your resources and energy on your best opportunities and set the others aside. The question is: How do you determine your priorities? And in the face of competing corporate agendas, how do you justify your choices? Both prioritization and justification are important steps in an effective corporate planning process.
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In Corporate Strategic Planning, Be Ready to Prioritize and Justify
So much has been written about the importance of setting priorities.
Whether in time management or corporate strategic planning, the point
remains: We must know our priorities and focus on the projects and
opportunities that represent our highest priorities. The saying, “Do
your best and forget the rest” is applicable in more than one way.
Focus your resources and energy on your best opportunities and set the
others aside. The question is: How do you determine your priorities?
And in the face of competing corporate agendas, how do you justify your
choices? Both prioritization and justification are important steps in an
effective corporate planning process.
How do you prioritize corporate objectives?
In a recent blog post we explored the
concept of Opportunity Valuation. The results of opportunity valuation
are fed directly into the process of identifying priorities and
justifying those selections. After all, once you’ve measured/valued your
potential corporate opportunities or objectives you’re already armed
with the information you need to prioritize and justify your chosen
direction(s). And with accurate values placed on defined opportunities,
you are ready to develop strategic and operational plans for those with
the highest values.
A formula for prioritization:
A formula for prioritization:
There are numerous mathematical formulas
that can be used to valuate opportunities. Here is a simple formula that
can be used to score and sort various decisions:
Formula:
Formula:
Final Score =
(Relative Importance to the Organization) - (Relative Satisfaction with
the Existing State) - (Approximate Time in Relative Scale to Implement
or Complete) - (Approximate Expense in Relative Scale) + (Relative
Viability, taking into account short & long-term usefulness)
Definitions:
Definitions:
Relative importance to the organization: Being completely objective, how critical is “it” to the organization?
Relative satisfaction with the existing state or condition: Again, being objective, how satisfied are we (the organization) without “it”?
Approximate relative time to implement or complete: If we do “it”, how long will it take to have “it”? The relative scale is used of course instead on an actual estimate.
Approximate relative expense: Is “it” expensive? Applying a relative scale of expense, would it be a “1”, a “5” or somewhere in between?
Relative viability (taking into account the short and long-term usefulness): How long will the utility of “it” last?
The resulting scores, when calculated on a spreadsheet, yield a sortable table that becomes a prioritized list of alternative strategic objectives.
Make no mistake; we are not suggesting that all decisions can be made strictly by mathematics. Intuition, gut feel, emotions, and opinions will always play a role, but our goal is to temper those “right brain” decision making impulses with a systematic logical approach.
Read about opportunity valuation in a previous post.
Read about the Plan4 strategic planning process here.
* * *
Join the Strategic
Planning Xchange group.
Learn More Does this leave you curious about Method Frameworks and the effectiveness of your own planning process? Plan4SM is our proprietary business planning process that involves an integrated set of actions designed to help companies gain sustainable advantage. Download our brochure to learn more about Method Frameworks and our services or download our Plan4 Planning Process Overview.
You can contact Method Frameworks at 877-317-5264 (877-31PLAN4) or follow this link to request a meeting with a planning consultant. Check our articles and blog often at www.methodframeworks.com to get many more planning tips and information about our Plan4 process.
Related ArticlesRelative satisfaction with the existing state or condition: Again, being objective, how satisfied are we (the organization) without “it”?
Approximate relative time to implement or complete: If we do “it”, how long will it take to have “it”? The relative scale is used of course instead on an actual estimate.
Approximate relative expense: Is “it” expensive? Applying a relative scale of expense, would it be a “1”, a “5” or somewhere in between?
Relative viability (taking into account the short and long-term usefulness): How long will the utility of “it” last?
The resulting scores, when calculated on a spreadsheet, yield a sortable table that becomes a prioritized list of alternative strategic objectives.
Make no mistake; we are not suggesting that all decisions can be made strictly by mathematics. Intuition, gut feel, emotions, and opinions will always play a role, but our goal is to temper those “right brain” decision making impulses with a systematic logical approach.
Read about opportunity valuation in a previous post.
Read about the Plan4 strategic planning process here.
* * *
Join the Strategic
Planning Xchange group.
Learn More Does this leave you curious about Method Frameworks and the effectiveness of your own planning process? Plan4SM is our proprietary business planning process that involves an integrated set of actions designed to help companies gain sustainable advantage. Download our brochure to learn more about Method Frameworks and our services or download our Plan4 Planning Process Overview.
You can contact Method Frameworks at 877-317-5264 (877-31PLAN4) or follow this link to request a meeting with a planning consultant. Check our articles and blog often at www.methodframeworks.com to get many more planning tips and information about our Plan4 process.
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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   Mergers and Acquisitions Understanding the Essentials of Strategy and Execution in the MA Ecosystem Part 3 of 4 Does This Business Strategy Make Me Look Fat Think Youre Ready to Hire a Corporate Consulting Firm How Long Should It Take To Complete A Strategic Plan Strategic Planning Business Executive Essentials Part 9 of 12 |
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Financial Management 9
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Great topic Kevin!!
Jude
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!
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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
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Starting a New Business
- I think [b]magonaga [/b]identified one of the most important ingredients for starting a new business in its simplest terms...."[b]Sheer bloody tenacious determination[/b]".
The only thing that I would add to this is the need for a plan. There are many methodologies for planning, but I believe that the most effective is also the simplest.
[list=] Step back from the excitement and anxiety, close your eyes and visualize your goal
Identify all of the ingredients (e.g. office/store, legal paperwork, contracts, products) that you need to make your vision a reality
Identify all of the ingredients that you need to get the previous ingredients (equipment, training, partnerships, mentors, marketing materials)
Prioritize all of the ingredients
Sketch out a timeline for how all of these ingredients come together to achieve your goal
Execute the timeline...with a liberal dose of magonaga's advice
[/list]
When all is said and done in the realm of planning, take heed of Dwight D. Eisenhower's advice "Plans are nothing. Planning is everything". Even though your timeline may not go as planned, the fact that you devoted the time towards planning will help you understand the impacts of changes to your plan and react more effectively to unforeseen events.
May God bless you in your endeavors!
Corporate Resource Speakers in Australia
- Where can we find one of the best Corporate Resource Speakers in Australia?
Re: Management Processes?
- Great question Aaron. Like you and Kevin have indicated, we can get a lot done by creating a management process. I like to:
Prioritize what I need to do in order of importance.
Pick the top priority item.
Brainstorm possible tasks.
Pick a task and complete it.
Move on to the next task.
I find this helps break things down into manageable pieces. It also helps just to take small actions.
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