Sunday, February 10, 2013

Video - How to Set and Reach Your Objectives

As a strategic planning speaker I am often asked "How can I implement my strategic plan?"  The short video on this page explains several key parts of the process, based upon 25 years of successful execution of plans in a variety of industries.

http://www.strategyspeakers.com/robert_bradford.php

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is something many people think they know because they have seen it done badly.  Strategic planning is NOT:

-SWOT analysis
-A list of objectives
-A book prepared for your board of directors
-Budgeting
-A nice looking document that no one looks at after completion
-A balanced scorecard
-A mission statement

Strategic planning is a process of setting the course and direction for an organization or other endeavor.  A well done strategic plan focuses the resources of the endeavor on those activities which will yield the best results.  For businesses, this means optimizing profitability, survive-ability and growth-ability.  

The best way to assess the quality of a strategic plan is to ask these questions:

-What did you do as a result of the plan?
-What difference did it make for your organization?

Considering the answers to these questions, how would you improve YOUR strategic planning?