Are you struggling to have an effective strategic plan in your company?
Why is it that when we have managers meetings for a strategic planning session, we often emerge with a document that’s devoid of “strategy” and it’s not even a plan?
It has happened to me that whenever I joined a meeting to set some strategic plans, we ended up with sentences like “how about we do this/ how about we do that”, and we didn’t reach an effective plan.
This happened due to the lack of keys to effective planning, “lack of method” what I can call it. a method is a systematic or established procedure to undertake something, step by step. The good thing about methods is that it can be learned and if you follow it step by step, it helps you reach the goal that you are looking for.
To make an effective strategic plan you need to follow these 6 steps:
1-Recognize your dependencies, i.e. your key stakeholders, and of course their roles
You’ll think that this will be simple. And in a little trade, like a comfort store, it at first is clients, representatives, providers, and proprietors. But at that point, you have got to be mindful that a few of the workers are too proprietors, and the complexity grows. The trap is to distinguish partner parts. The same group of partners can possess more than one part.
2-Identify your “target customer” before moving forward
Separating the target client has enormous implications, counting in other partner groups. For case, KPMG as they were contract staff who are qualified to offer administrations for huge corporate and big government clients. Your key arrangement can’t be all things to all clients. So, take your time here to characterize your target client.
3-Identify what your company wants from each of your key stakeholders
For certain bosses, it initially feels like putting the cart in front of the rider. The explanation for that? They’re so used to speaking operationally, not creatively, that putting “selves” first feels like heresy. This is nowhere more evident than for the “employees” stakeholder.
4-To identify what each of these stakeholders wants from you
These are the main decision-making principles used by stakeholders when engaging with your company. This can include, for example, influences that affect the decision to buy from you (customers), work for you (employees), supply to you (suppliers) or invest in you (shareholders).
You must know how each stakeholder community feels about them — that you reflect on their point of view, not your own. This can come from some methods, including in-depth stakeholder interviews, listening to stakeholder reports about their experiences with you and the market, suggestions from the concern and recommendation programs, focus groups, and even informal meetings with stakeholders.
5-To identify your organization position based on strategic factors identified for each stakeholder group
This is influenced by the goals you have established for your company and the information you have gleaned about the present and future needs of your partners on strategic considerations. This is where “center” delivers in spades again.
6-Continuous improvement. be prepared to adjust!
Recognize that no matter what you decide, there is no guarantee about the outcome as soon as you start executing the action plan and scorecard. See your plan as being trapped in an intense tango with your main stakeholders. This diverse outlook promotes transparency, creativity, and willingness to adapt.