Tweet

Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 1 of 12

Guest post by: Joe Evans

Article Overview: Business executives are always wanting to improve their company's performance by laying out a better business plan and strategy. Many ask the question “where can I find a decent business plan template for the new year?” * Have you given much consideration to the possibility that your strategic and operational plans may be far less effective than they could be? - Do you know what your strategic plan should accomplish? - How would you begin to measure the effectiveness of your current strategic planning process? - Does your own planning process consistently define meaningful goals that get achieved as expected when the plan is followed? This article is part one of a series that describes the components of a comprehensive business strategic plan and provides a checklist for evaluating strategic planning process effectiven

Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 1 of 12

Business executives are always wanting to improve their company's performance by laying out a better business plan and strategy. Many ask the question “where can I find a decent business plan template for the new year?”

• Have you given much consideration to the possibility that your strategic and operational plans may be far less effective than they could be?
• Do you know what your strategic plan should accomplish?
• How would you begin to measure the effectiveness of your current strategic planning process?
• Does your own planning process consistently define meaningful goals that get achieved as expected when the plan is followed?

This article is part one of a series that describes the components of a comprehensive business strategic plan and provides a checklist for evaluating strategic planning process effectiveness.

It Has Been Around Forever, But is Generally Not Well Understood

Strategic Planning is a misunderstood and often misused term, lacking a well-defined and widely agreed upon definition. Strategy, and the planning associated with it, has origins dating back to its military usage as early as the 6th century. In the corporate world, strategic planning generally refers to the defining of the organization’s go-forward plan for the future and accompanying desired outcomes. The spectrum of corporate strategic planning models and processes is broad, and the term has taken on many different connotations over recent decades.

The Opportunity Afforded By Strategic Planning

When strategic planning is done well, with a mature and robust process that guides the effort to ensure completeness - the outcomes can be powerful and position the organization to dominate the competition. Yet only a small percentage of organizations operate with mature planning models that yield complete and comprehensive strategic plans. The majority do not fully operationalize their strategy to get maximum benefit. Fully operationalized strategic plans are more comprehensive - going further than just defining business strategy by addressing all of the actions and resources required to implement the strategy, including:

• Timelines for the actions
• Required resources
• Metrics tied to goal accomplishment
• Accountability in goal-related initiatives
• Plan governance structures
• Scenario planning
• Training
• Risk mitigation
• Industry trend analysis
• Core competencies analysis
• Core values analysis

All of this provides the holistic picture of the existing landscape and the organization’s proficiencies within it. Such plans allow managers to monitor progress and remove impediments to goal accomplishment.

Data suggests that most organizations would certainly benefit from adopting a more formalized approach to strategic planning and that many companies have routinely failed to successfully and fully implement their strategic goals.

• A great majority of executives (64% of a recent Booze & Company Inc. survey) say that their biggest frustration factor is "having too many conflicting priorities." followed by these executive challenges:
  • (a) ensuring that day-to-day decisions are in line with the strategy (56%)
  • (b) allocating resources in a way that really supports the strategy (56%)
• The Harvard Business Review estimates the ROI from traditional planning approaches to be 34% or less.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that organizations realize just 60% of the potential value of their strategies.
• Kaplan and Norton research suggest that 90% of organizations fail to successfully implement their strategies.

Factors To Correct

While the statistics related to the effectiveness of strategic planning appear somewhat grim, they can be vastly improved by understanding the discipline of planning and setting on a coarse to improve planning methods by stretching the process further into the operations layer where execution takes place. Failure to execute on strategy has several root causes, which include:

• Failure to challenge underlying assumptions (critical evaluation)
• Poor prioritization
• Lack of detail planning to support strategic goal achievement
• Poor communication and coordination
• Poor change / transformation planning
• Strategy and culture misalignment
• Strategy and operations misaligned (including disconnected budgeting)
• Plan goals lacking accountability
• Poor planning governance
• Ill-defined strategic goals
• Lack of risk identification & mitigation strategies

This is part of of a 12-part series. In the articles over the coming weeks, we will walk through various aspects of the strategic planning process and discuss what a strategic plan should include and how it can successfully be linked to execution.

* * *

For permission to use or reprint any portions of this copyrighted article, contact Method Frameworks at articles@methodframeworks.com.

About the Author:

Joe Evans is the President and CEO of Method Frameworks, Joe is a published author, frequent speaker and recognized expert in corporate 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.

Join the Strategic Planning Xchange group.

Learn More Method Frameworks is a leading business strategy and management consulting company, based in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and serving clients nationally and internationally.

Discover our capabilities and learn why Method Frameworks is the strategic planning partner chosen by Fortune-500 companies and small businesses alike. Let us show you how to realize 140%+ ROI on your strategic planning efforts through our unique Plan4^SM process that brings together strategy and execution into a powerful plan. Plan4 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 Articles
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 8 of 12
  Clearing Up The Myths About Strategic Thinking and Planning
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 11 of 12
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 10 of 12
  More on Strategic Planning What Do You Think
  “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”
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 9 of 12
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 12 of 12
  10 Most Compelling Reasons To Hire A Coach, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Strategic Thinking What Does It Really Mean
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 5 of 12
  Strategic Thinking Planning for Nonprofit Organizations
  Year End Strategic Planning - To Plan or Not to Plan - That is the Question\"
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 6 of 12
  “A Major Communication Tip For Successful Strategic Planning – Provide Definitions of Major Strategic Planning Terms As You Begin”
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 4 of 12
  “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”
  More On Strategic Thinking
  Strategic Planning - Business Executive Essentials - Part 7 of 12

Article Tags: business consulting, business plan template, business strategy, management consulting, operational plans, strategic planning, strategic planning process, strategy consulting
Referred by: http://www.imageworksstudio.com/



Related Forum Posts
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 - 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
$1000 and a stupid idea - [quote="OmnivoreInk":8mkh1lv7]Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle founders of a magazine called Executive Lifestyle. Started in 1991. Revenue has grown more than 200% since 2004. 4 full time, 3 part time employees "We started off with $1,000 and a stupid idea." It began as This Month, a guide for tourists, and morphed into Executive Lifestyle.[/quote:8mkh1lv7] Hi Barbara, I find this story about Bill and Heidi Dittmar's success to be especially interesting! Would you happen to know what the catalyst or tipping point was for their change from a guide for tourists to an Executive Lifestyle magazine? Thanks
Business Innovation - Hi Simon If you can finish off the Business Plan and think about your strategic direction or how you are going to use your product to convince people it's a great idea, it will set the foundation for your programming project. You see, when you are looking for funding you will need a Business Plan and Strategic Plan that will convince companies to invest into your new idea. Has anyone achieved this idea before using another industry besides health and fitness that you know of? You should also design some mockups as a "preview" for your programming project. This will also help reduce your programming costs as everyone will know exactly what you want if you have detailed mockups already completed including any functionality you require. Starting mockups for websites and software applications on paper is the best way if you're not a guru in graphic editing software.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women


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.

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

Ten Steps to Go from Idea to E-book for Sale

Time management for DIY PR

Taking Advantage Of Internet Advertising Trends

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.