Make Strategic Planning A Priority

I hear it time and again. When the topic of Strategic Planning comes up, so many business owners are excited by the concept but are mired in the day-to-day noise of running their business. “Strategic Planning? I am up to my ears right now in leading my company, I just don’t have time to create a long-term vision or a strategic plan. Maybe in a few months or next year when I have more time.”

But let’s face it. As a busy business owner, you will never have more time than you have at this moment. That is, as long as you are consigned to endlessly work IN your business and never ON your business. Yes, strategic planning takes some time and energy; but business owners who make planning a priority are exponentially better positioned for both short and long-term success.

What Is Strategic Planning Really?

Strategic planning is?a process conducted by you, as the business leader, that defines and summarizes the direction of your company, identifies your long-term goals and objectives, and prioritizes those goals to create an executable roadmap to achieving your vision of business success.

In a way, you might even think of your Strategic Plan like your business’s own Constitution, that memorializes your principles and is foundational for almost every decision you make in your business.

Strategic Planning also helps reveal opportunities for performance improvement. By digging deep into operational, HR, and other business dynamics, business owners gain insight into potential new approaches to product development, company culture, new sales strategies, and expanded markets - and addressing recurring issues that can plague long-term performance and growth.

Want to get started writing a Strategic Plan. Read “How to Write a Surprisingly Easy and Effective Strategic Plan.”

What About Execution?

The actual act of Strategic Planning is only half of the equation. Next comes execution.

• Communicate Your Strategic Plan. Include your team in the Strategic Planning process. By engaging your leadership team and valued employees from the onset, you create better opportunities for support and commitment. Maybe even consider conducting a Strategic Planning Day for your entire staff. Whether or not your employees were involved from the start, it is vital to communicate (clearly and often!) your Strategic Plan to everyone within your organization.
• Set Quantifiable Goals. Goals-setting needs to be in alignment to the Strategic Plan and includes both organizational and individual goals. Everyone working in your business should have tangible, attainable goals that directly relate to the Strategic Plan. As these goals are being set and hopefully surpassed, business leadership will gain a better understanding of individual performance metrics and the entire performance management strategy.
• Tracking & Reporting. Tracking and reporting are your Strategic Plan’s best friends. Without quantifiable, objective, and uniform metrices recorded and leveraged across the board, even the best Strategic Plan’s are doomed to fail.

Top Strategic Planning Tools

The Alternative Board (TAB) has created a number of truly powerful Strategic Planning tools that help business owners create a compelling vision for their companies, achieve greater team engagement, and help establish a thriving company culture.

TAB’s StratPro is a business leadership program that uniquely combines strategy and productivity – and truly acts as the catalyst for business transformation. Designed for busy leaders and their companies, StratPro is a power-packed program that combines expertly facilitated leadership workshops with follow-up sessions dedicated to Execution and Accountability.

Business owners are increasingly turning to TAB’s StratPro as part of their Strategic Planning and execution process because it is efficient, effective, and delivers results.

Want to learn more about StratPro? Check out this brief but informative StratPro Case Study.

I trust this article and the information in the links, proves useful to you and your business. Till next time, keeping building value.?

StratPro - Strategic Business Transformation Process

A series of facilitated workshops to establish the right strategic direction for your company and to align your team to achieve your vision.

Business owners who participate in the StratPro strategic business transformation process, with their teams, can expect:

• To grow their business.?
• Earn greater profits
• See their business value increase.?

StratPro is different from any other strategic planning programs. Contact me today to find out more about the complete program or standalone workshops.?

“helping business owners build better businesses in ways that change their lives”

Warm regards,