Photo courtesy of Alex Osterwalder
Simplicity is the key to using strategic planning sessions to create actionable items. It’s not overly difficult to create a strategic plan, but management and implementation can be another story. Time spent on strategic planning is wasted if the project isn’t managed and broken down into actionable steps. Keeping the plan on track means setting reasonable goals and realistic timelines.
Use Strategic Goals to Develop Programs and Projects
Analyzing your company’s strategic goals and direction will facilitate plan management by enabling you to identify which projects are short-term, which are ongoing, and what the requirements are for each. For example, a Vancouver-based company planning to open a Calgary branch decides to conduct a feasibility study within a three-month time limit. If the study provides with a favorable outcome, an ongoing internal communication strategy would be implemented to enable the Vancouver head office to maintain effective management.
Creation and Management of an Effective Implementation Plan
Once the action steps created by the strategic plan are defined, it is important to delegate effectively. The better defined the tasks, the easier it is for employees to complete projects and for company management to oversee the process. Careful strategic planning and management leads to clear tasks, clear goals, and a growing business.
Continuing with the previous example, the project manager in charge of tasking the feasibility study project must assess the demand for the company’s products and services in Calgary. Monitoring the business environment in surrounding cities would also be strategically prudent. Also important are metrics such as forecasting cash flow and revenue needs for the Calgary expansion.
The implementation plan should outline specific timelines and identify required resources – financial and human. Managing the process by delegating responsibility to specific employees encourages ownership and accountability throughout the implementation process.
Develop Alternative Implementation Scenarios
Because business changes at a rapid pace, implementation plans must stay flexible. Strategic management involves developing alternative implementation scenarios ahead of time to ensure that the company can efficiently adjust to and recover from unforeseen complications while keeping the strategic plan on track.
Returning to our example, if the early stage of the feasibility study project shows that Calgary is a lucrative market for expansion, the implementation team can immediately move into an office allocation project. On the other hand, if Calgary turns out to be a poor choice, the implementation team can quickly transition into investigating other cities.
Manage Strategic Plans with Regular Progression Meetings
Even the most brilliant implementation plan is useless without a project manager to monitor the results. Weekly or bi-monthly strategic planning meetings, along with yearly evaluations, give task managers the opportunity to report on successes and failures. Employees will have the chance to exchange ideas, provide feedback, and identify potential roadblocks. After the discussion, the project management team can reassess goals and tasks and delegate or re-assign as necessary.
Running a business is a complex process often requiring coordination of multiple teams in multiple locations working to achieve an overall goal. The first step to your goals is careful strategic planning. Strong management is then required to ensure that the company works in alignment to achieve success.
Tags: small business strategic planning, Strategic Planning, vancouver business consulting, Vancouver marketing consultant, Vancouver strategic planning consultant