Whether your organization is large or small, strategic planning is critical to the success of your business. Even individual departments must create their own strategic plans to drive sustained business results. Whatever our size or scope, we need to plan where we’re going and how we plan to get there in order to achieve our objectives. Otherwise, we run the risk of never reaching our intended destination!
In our experience, there are two ways to develop a strategic plan. The first approach plans from the past by reviewing where we’ve been and deciding where we want to go in the future. This more traditional approach leverages our current strengths and perceived market opportunities to get there. A second and more effective approach, in our experience, jumps forward to some point in the not-too-distant future and focuses on the possibilities that could occur instead. From there, we simply need to work backwards from this ideal state to determine how best to make it happen.
At Plus Delta, we have used – and seen the benefits of – both methods; however, we prefer to focus on envisioning our client’s possible future irrespective of its past and then plan from the future rather than from a place of prediction based on historical events. This model of starting backwards from a place of what’s possible enables powerful “out of the box” thinking rather than constraining an organization to where it has already been. Planning from the future also creates opportunities for being creative, dreaming big, and innovating in a way that can take an organization to even greater heights of success. But before you go off and simply create your strategic plan, make sure to take into account a much broader perspective.
Throughout the strategic planning process, it is essential to enlist the support of all your key stakeholders from across – and outside – your organization. Take into consideration the perspectives of your business owners, senior leaders, employees, customers, and other groups outside of the organization. Each of these groups may have unique views about your organization’s vision and should be engaged in the strategic planning process.
Next, establish a few guideposts – your vision, mission, and values – to lay the foundation for your strategic plan. Your vision describes the benefit your organization provides – your end goal or final accomplishment. Typically, a vision is an object of your imagination and creativity and therefore may be unattainable. Your mission describes what your organization must do to achieve the vision. And your values establish clear boundaries of behavior for pursuing your vision. For example, some of Plus Delta’s values are Quality, Respect, Client Satisfaction, and Personal Fulfillment. One could argue that these aren’t required for our continued success, but this is how we choose to operate as we pursue our vision.
After your guideposts are in place, you must establish intermediary strategic targets throughout the planning horizon (e.g., 10 years, 5 years, 2 years). These sub-goals provide the basis for developing an action plan and are intended to move your organization towards achieving your vision. To be successful though, you will also need to develop a more specific Year One action plan with quarterly and monthly goals to operationalize the strategic plan. Without establishing these clear accountabilities for those who must perform the strategic work, your strategic plan is likely to end up on a shelf and be forgotten.
Once you develop both your strategic plan and the shorter-term action plan, be sure to conduct regular project status and review sesssions with the strategic planning team to measure your progress against plan and monitor the results of your ongoing work. This discipline will keep your implementation efforts on track. It also provides excellent opportunities to make any necessary adjustments along the way as your business and/or market environment changes. Together, this process of continuous evaluation and plan refinement will keep the team moving forward and bring your organization closer and closer to achieving your vision for the future.
Can Plus Delta help you identify your possible future and create a strategic plan for success? To learn more about our unique planning from the future approach, give us a call at +1 (310) 589-4600 or send an email to support@plusdelta.net. You can also visit the Strategic Planning page of our website for more information.
Note: This feature was originally published and distributed in Plus Delta Consulting’s e-newsletter in September 2008.
