Summary:

Tools like Web 2.0 have made it easier for businesses to gather input from a wide variety of stakeholders, effectively putting all management decisions up for a vote with customers and employees. Ideas from outsiders are great, but should not be a substitute for the experience and knowledge of strong leaders- especially when it comes to strategy. Businesses are not, and should not be democracies.

Strategists should use the tools available, however a strategist also needs to; a) Help anticipate the discontinuous change; b) Develop scenarios in advance so as to be prepared when change occurs; c) Help the company to become proactive in change and help bring about change in a fashion which disproportionately benefits your company.  The general public lacks these skills because they generally have limited knowledge about the specific situation and their ideas are biased towards their limited perspective.

Article Quote:

“Suggestions from the masses tend to be extensions of what they know, which is the old business model. They are not very useful in proactively getting to the discontinuous new. And unfortunately, the discontinuous new is all around us. This is where professional strategists are most valuable.”

Link:http://planninga-from-nanninga.blogspot.com/2009/12/strategic-planning-analogy-301.html

The latest fancy new tools or trends should not be a replacement for Strategists. Strategists are necessary and many companies rely on their expert advise when developing their strategic plans. However, businesses should create an environment that fosters ’strategic thinking’ by everyone in the company because it adds value to the entire organization.

Tactical implementation of strategic plans are almost entirely executed by front-line people within the organization. Thus, getting everyone to start thinking strategically can better enable then to anticipate potential threats and obstacles before it reaches a critical point. It also makes your people better problem solvers and more responsive to changing customer needs.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/

Summary:

Clearly identifying your vision and communicating it consistently and constantly creates an environment that equips and motivates members of the organization to create positive moments of truth experiences for your external customers. All business processes, management practices, and employee incentives should flow from and be in alignment with a clearly defined strategy in order to achieve maximum success. A good strategy is to get a knowledgeable and objective outsider involved in the planning process to allow for an impartial point of view. This creates an opportunity for fresh eyes and new ideas that can inject creativity into the process.

The first step is to ask yourself where do you want to be in five years and why aren’t you there right now? Asking why you haven’t reached yet that success point can be revealing because the reason might be one that you haven’t realized or been willing to face. Understanding where you want to be and why you aren’t yet there is the first step in developing a strategic plan.

Article Quote:

“Your vision gives you a point of reference for evaluating and planning all aspects of your business. You’ll make better and faster decisions when you evaluate every choice by asking, “Does this take me closer to or farther from the attainment of my vision?””

Link: http://alcorp.net/?p=25962

Clarifying vision, goals, and the tactical planning steps needed to get there are what strategic planning is all about. Once developed, however, there are some elements to address in order for the plan to be successfully executed. Getting everyone in the organization on board with the plan increases involvement, thus increasing the chances for success. To keep your plan active, it needs to be integrated with daily tasks and objectives where results can be measured This increases accountability when tasks are not completed and allows for course adjustments when something is not working. A huge mistake is to create a plan where results are rarely measured, for instance- once a year at the next strategic planning session.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/