Strategic Planning & Growth Kamran on 18 Dec 2007 07:06 am
Strategic Planning and Leadership
Strategic Planning is mainly a top-to-bottom process in that it’s a leadership level responsibility. It’s where the leadership refines and crystallizes its vision and direction for the organization and communicates it to the rest of the organization. Without that crucial communication the business entity is like a ship without a rudder.
A number of measured inputs are needed to determine where the organization currently stands in order to envision its future direction and growth. The current market share is one such measurement. A healthy current benchmark is crucial for quantitative measurement of success.
A typical strategic planning session involved the whole top-level management and the Board of the company.
The leadership gathers in a meeting that lasts anywhere from half a day to multiple days. The CEO or the Board Chairman explains the importance of strategic planning and the company’s commitment.
A division of roles in terms of who is expected to contribute what to the planning and in what capacity always expedites the process. Such clarity helps eliminate internal friction and inertia.
In such meetings the leadership evaluates the nature of the competition it is facing; the demographics it serves and the changes in that demographics; emergent realities of their business niche like new technologies, global developments or a change in the legal and regulatory environment.
Each unit or department presents its plan to contribute to the overall goal, accompanied by overall project deadlines.
One of the most important tasks in such meetings is to determine the SWOT equation, that is, the organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.