Strategic Planning Process

Steps in the Strategic Planning Process

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When it comes to the strategic planning process, leaders can think of it as having three phases:

1. discussion,
2. development, and
3. review and updating.

The goal of the strategic planning process is to ensure everyone in the organization is aligned when it comes to an organization’s goals and objectives, as well as to create a formal strategic plan document.

1.     Discussion Phase

The discussion phase is meant to gather as much information, opinions, and input as possible. Leaders should set up a regularly scheduled meeting with the employees in the organization who will be involved with strategic planning. They should make sure they have an agenda and clear expectations of what they want to accomplish in each meeting.

This will keep discussions on track and help prevent distractions. In the first few meetings, leaders should try to answer questions that will help define the organization’s current status, such as “Where are we now?” and “Where are our competitors?” Once leaders have a good idea of where the organizationOpens in new window is, they can focus on specific details in future meetings. In addition to regular meetings with their employees at the organization, leaders can also reach out to vendors, investors, analysts, and other people outside of the organization to gather information.

External people will have a unique perspective not only on the leader’s organization, but also the industry they are operating in. Getting their opinions on where they think the industry is going and what they think will change in the future can help leaders put together their strategic plan and determine where they want their organization to be further down the road.

Leaders can also conduct a SWOT analysisOpens in new window which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. When leaders are conducting a SWOT analysis, they and other employees examine what the organization does well, where it can improve, any future opportunities to pursue that could help facilitate growth and success, and any competitors or external factors that could prevent the business from succeeding.

In most instances the organization’s strengths should be pretty easy to identify. When leaders and others are discussing their organization’s weaknesses, they shouldn’t be afraid to be candid.

Opportunities available to the organization may be pretty clear, while identifying threats to the organization can be more difficult.

Speaking with people outside of the organization should give leaders a good idea of where the industry could be heading and if there are any major competitors or challenges coming. If leaders and others can identify a number of threats and challenges to their organization early on, it puts them in a better position to address them if and when they encounter them down the road.

2.     Development Phase

After all the information has been collected, it’s time for the development phase. This is when leaders and others will start putting together the organization’s strategic plan. A strategic plan consists of five key components:

1. a vision statement,
2. a mission statement,
3. goals and objectives,
4. an action plan, and
5. details on how often the strategic plan will be reviewed and updated.

Leaders should decide with their employees what they will use to create the strategic plan. Are they going to purchase software to help create and house the plan? Or are they going to create the plan themselves and save it in the cloud for easier access?

When creating goals and objectives for the organization, leaders should make sure they are realistic and measurable (e.g., or meet the requirements of the SMARTER frameworkOpens in new window). Leaders must work with other employees to create goals and objectives for at least the next one to three years and also discuss how these goals and objectives will be measured and tracked. For example, if the goal is to increase sales by 10% in the next year, leaders can track this by measuring sales numbers.

Equally important is having an action plan to achieve these goals and objective. If leaders are trying to increase their sales by 10% in a year, they can pursue more marketing and social mediaOpens in new window outreach as part of the action plan. If an action plan doesn’t help the organization achieve its goals, the plan needs to be rewritten.

3.     Review and Updating Phase

A critical part of the strategic plan should address how often it will be reviewed and updated. Leaders should designate someone to be responsible for reviewing, updating, and sharing any changes with the rest of the organization. Whether it is specific leaders, for example, or other employees, leaders should make sure everyone in the organization is aware of the changes and how they affect the overall strategic plan.

The strategic plan is meant to be a fluid document; so leaders should not fall into the trap of creating the document and letting it sit on a shelf for years. If leaders and others have developed meaningful objectives and action plans, they should help with regularly checking the strategic plan.

For example, if the action plan requires the organization to put in sales numbers every quarter to track revenue, leaders should take that time to review the rest of the plan.

Leaders should also consider setting an alert to check the strategic plan on a regular basis. Whether it’s every few months, every quarter, or every year, a recurring alert can help leaders review and update the document.

When leaders are reviewing the strategic plan, they may find that the organization is not on track to meet an objective or goal that they previously set up. The key is for leaders not to panic. They should reassess the situation and, if needed, discuss the issues with other leaders and employees.

Together they should focus on figuring out what went wrong and why the organization isn’t on pace and consider the possibility that maybe the goal was too ambitious or not realistic. There may be a need to change the goal or objective and update the action plan to help get things back on track.

Leaders may find that the organization has met a goal or objective earlier than expected. If so, leaders and others can create a new goal or objective to work toward, or try to maintain the progress they have already made. Leaders should discuss the ideas with their employees to see what they think is possible