Strategic planning is a business process that many companies use to identify potential success factors that determine their future growth and profit path. Lewis Carroll presents a good example in the film “Alice in Wonderland”. said Alice. “It all depends on where you want to go,” said Cat. “I do not care where …,” said Alice. “So it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
Like most business processes, the key to success is effective implementation of the plan. Companies that do a good job of developing and implementing their strategies can create a competitive advantage that provides increased market share and a higher gross profit margin. Organizations that turn their program into a dust collector executive library will never reach their full growth և profit potential.
Much of the critique of strategic planning is directed at the planning process. They question the validity of a plan based on market “predictions”, a dubious assessment of competitors’ depth, breadth, and the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses. The fact that strategic plans can be overly optimistic is not the main issue. While criticism may be appropriate, it puts the focus on improvement on the wrong end of the process. it’s an implementation task that can be achieved to achieve positive results; և this is where most companies fail in strategic planning.
Rational strategic plans that are poorly implemented will yield limited positive results. On the other hand, highly optimistic strategic plans that are implemented effectively can yield results beyond everyone’s expectations. So, what is the guarantee of effective implementation? In a word, commitment!
Companies that are well versed in strategic planning gain commitment to the planning process յուրաքանչյուր each of the strategies under the program. They build commitment throughout the organization by working with people in all business functions to make a commitment before, during and after the development of their strategic plan.
The winners start to establish their commitment to the strategic plan early. Recommendations are encouraged by managers at all levels, key executives who will be involved in the planning sessions, and others who will share responsibility for implementing the outcome strategies. Together, they identify issues that will require changes in the business process and / or culture, and identify the limitations that must be overcome if implementation is to be successful.
During the planning sessions, the key managers of each functional area are encouraged to participate and contribute to the project. These leaders develop strategies based on organizational strengths, taking into account the resources needed to implement those strategies. They assure that the chief executive “masters” each strategy and is committed to its implementation schedule. Key managers think about resource planning, realizing that human resources are the key to achieving positive things in a complex, complex business environment, և they commit accordingly.
Following the development of their plan, those responsible for implementation develop their “tactical plans”. These action plans, when combined with self-managed work teams, are a key contribution to the successful implementation of strategic planning. Teams use their plan to manage, make decisions, and grow their business. They periodically review their “tactical plans” to monitor and report on progress, keeping the plan “alive” and reviewing strategies and tactics as needed.
After all, they are working on the planning process to ensure the successful implementation of their strategic plan. The planning team is constantly “improving” the planning process to ensure that revenue from all business functions is properly accounted for to ensure that the achievement and commitment to the final plan is at all levels of the organization.
So why are most operations management teams out of the strategic planning process? Why do so many line managers view strategic planning as a work in progress that brings little or no value to customers? Perhaps because they did not participate in its development, did not accept its validity, they were more committed to achieving its strategic goals. In short, they are not related to the process. To achieve the full growth of the company և to achieve profit potential գործ CEOs և business owners must ensure the active participation of management in their strategic planning process. Professional help is available from Business Basics, LLC, so why not call us?