It’s that time again to start planning for the new year. It is all too common for businesses, propelled by urgency, not to devote the necessary time and energy to the strategic planning process; but a proactive and rigorous annual planning process is critical for driving future success, profitability, value, and impact.
Strategy should be viewed as a dynamic force that constantly seeks opportunities, identifies initiatives that will capitalise on them, and completes those initiatives swiftly and efficiently. In today’s dynamic work landscape, businesses need to be nimble enough to navigate rapid change.
Strategic planning for businesses
Strategic planning is an ongoing process where by a business sets its forward course by bringing its people together to examine current realities, and define its vision for the future. It examines the businesses strengths and weaknesses, resources available, and opportunities. Strategic planning seeks to anticipate future industry trends, define its vision, and purpose, and set strategic goals that are long-term and forward-focused.
These strategic goals then inform operational goals and key milestones that need to be reached. The operational plan has clear objectives and supporting initiatives tied to metrics to which everyone is accountable. Moreover, the plan should be agile enough to allow for recalibrating when necessary and redistributing resources based on internal and external forces.
Strategic planning for individuals
Strategic planning is not just for businesses, and is one of the skills that employers should identify, track, and develop within the ‘whole person model.’ For individuals, strategic planning is the ability to think through ways to achieve desired outcomes.
Just as strategic planning helps businesses realise their goals for the future, it helps individuals grow and achieve goals in a unified direction. Working backward from the desired outcome, effective strategic planning consists of coming up with the steps people need to take today to get where they want to be tomorrow.
While no plan is infallible, people who develop this skill are good at checking to make sure that their actions are in alignment with the outcomes that they want to see in the future. Even when things do not go according to plan, their long-term goals act as a guide to get them back on course.
Envisioning desired future states and figuring out how to turn them into reality enhances an individual’s sense of personal meaning and motivation. Whether looking at strategic planning for the business or the individual, strategic plans can go awry for different reasons including unrealistic goals, too many priorities, poor communication, using the wrong measures, and lack of leadership.
What are the benefits of robust strategic planning and management?
Strategy development can be overwhelming and seem like a lot of work, but the benefits are lasting. Taking the time for review and planning activities has unlimited benefits including:
- Businesses and people are set up to succeed
- Increased likelihood of staying on track
- Decreased likelihood of being distracted or derailed
- Progress through the plan is communicated throughout the business
- Metrics facilitate course correction
- Budgets business-wide are based on strategy
- Cross-business alignment
- Robust employee performance and compensation plans
- Commitment to learning and training
- Getting everyone involved and invested in the business
- Employees inform management about what is working or not working at the operational level
- Innovation is encouraged and rewarded
- Increased productivity
The strategic planning meeting may have a reputation for being just another to-do, but it might be time to take a second look. With the right action plan and a little strategic thinking, employers can reinvigorate the business environment and start planning for success.
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