STRATEGIC PLANNING

Strategic business planning and execution
Exit strategy planning
Planning and managing growth
Managing change
Vision and mission articulation

Successful companies create a powerful vision for all stakeholders
and proactively plan their future in a context of shared values and effective teamwork.

Corporate vision: provides the point of reference for the organization and a beacon to go towards. A vision statement pushes the association toward some future goal or achievement. It should have three components (AIP):

• Aspiration: a unique long-term achievement the company is striving for.
• Inspiration: provides a compelling “magnet” which will pull the organization onward and upward through change.
• Perspiration: invites and suggests the hard work that will be necessary to achieve the vision.

Corporate mission: a statement of organizational purpose. A mission statement guides current, critical, strategic decision making. Corporate mission statements are the operational, ethical and financial guides for companies. A mission statement is an enduring statement of purpose for an organization that identifies the scope of its operations in product and market terms and reflects its values and priorities.

Corporate goals: define the specific, measurable achievements the company will invest resources in. Key elements of good business goals include:

• The goal covers vital elements for the business; revenue, profit, new accounts, product/service launches, etc.
• Specified target date; the explicit time period for goal achievement is defined.
• Measurable and verifiable; the goal must be objective, not subjective.
• Realistic and attainable, yet challenging; the goal should strike a balance between “easy” and “impossible”.
• Contributes to values and priorities of company.
• Specifies single key result; should not mix desired outcomes. This allows a conscious decision on the relative priority of goals that have an inherent tension, e.g. “profit” and “customer service”.
• Controllable by the individual or team that “owns” the goal; resources and authorities required for goal achievement are under the control of the goal “owner”.
• Written; goals that are written are durable and not subject to “revisionism” as events unfold or people in the company change.

Organize effectively: how the company organizes its resources should be in relation to how it intends to achieve its goals.

Strategic plan: high level statements of how company will achieve goals; 1 – 5+ years.

Tactical plan: specific action plans to support goal achievement; What – Who – When – Budget.

Monitoring/Follow up: A process for monitoring progress, evaluating new realities (opportunities and threats).

• Strategic – quarterly
• Tactical – monthly