Strategic plans are often created and then forgotten until the start of the next planning cycle.

This is one of the reasons why strategic execution often takes too long and costs more than originally planned. In fact, no more than 8% of strategic leaders report a success rate of 90% or more on long-term strategic initiatives.

Done well, a strategic plan translates business strategy into specific initiatives and actions that provide a clear roadmap for executing strategy and achieving business goals.

Using simple tools and templates, functional managers can map and communicate their priorities on a page or two and make it easier for everyone to understand why and how to execute the plan.

A clear link between strategy and strategic plans

It's easy to confuse the essence of strategy with a more detailed strategic plan, especially when conditions change rapidly and the horizon for change is short, but task #1 is to know the difference and why it is Important.

3 things to know about strategy when planning strategy

The strategy sets the long-term direction of the business, articulating what the business will do to compete and succeed in its chosen markets or, for the public sector, what the agency will do to accomplish its mission.

Strategic plans define how the company will achieve its long-term ambitions. Functional strategic plans define the roadmap of initiatives and the portfolio of investments needed to achieve these strategic objectives. In this document, functional managers document the choices and actions necessary for the service to contribute to the business model and the objectives of the company.

Operational plans address the execution of specific projects and changes, as well as any operational tasks not included in the strategic plan.

If you're responsible for functional strategy, it means creating strategic insights focused only on what's important. Focus on the critical assumptions, relevant metrics, and key initiatives your department needs to effectively contribute to organizational goals, even as they change.

What is Strategic Planning?

Strategy creates a common understanding of what the company wants to achieve and what it needs to do to get there. Strategic plans bridge the gap between that general direction and the specific projects and day-to-day actions that realize the strategy.

What are the four types and three levels of strategic planning?

Planning meetings begins with the definition of a strategy at the company level, but this strategy must then be transformed into actions. The three levels of strategic planning generally refer to the enterprise vis-à-vis the business and functional unit. The four types of plans are generally strategic, operational, tactical and contingent.

Why is it important to have a strategic plan?

An effective strategic plan helps leaders improve the focus and responsiveness of planning activities essential to achieving their long-term strategy. Leaders responsible for functional strategy can use strategic insights to focus their teams on what's most important.

What are the steps in the strategic planning process?

To build a successful strategic plan with a consistent and sequential process, functional leaders must:

Ensure consistent use of terms to minimize confusion in strategic planning and set a baseline for collaboration.

Build a solid foundation for more detailed planning by first defining or testing the mission, vision, and goal statement.

Streamline stakeholder input by limiting mission, vision, and goal setting to senior management, and leaving the development of goals, action plans, measures, and metrics to managers with business expertise ‘execution.

What are the elements of strategic planning?

Key elements of a successful strategic plan include:

Mission and vision The mission of the organization articulates its reasons for being, and the vision states where the company hopes to be. The strategic plan, which links the two, must be adaptable enough to react if the context changes during execution.

Strategic forecasts. To develop a successful strategic plan, management must consider trends and disruptions and assess their potential impact on business objectives.

Design of strategic plans. A rigorous strategic planning design effectively translates strategy into plans that can and will be executed. Bad plans lead to bad execution.

What are the key terms of strategic planning?

Mission: purpose of the organization.

Vision: Desired future state.

Goal: purpose.

Objective: how to achieve the goals.

Action plan: what is needed to achieve the objectives?

Measures and Metrics: Track progress toward goals.

How to design a strategic planning system?

Strategic planning “systems” refer to the tools used to document strategic plans. Gartner urges organizations not to focus on strategy in terms of the document they create. Instead, focus on turning the strategy into an easy-to-communicate action plan.

What is a strategic action plan?

The strategic action plan is a formal document that serves as the main source of information on how the objectives will be executed, monitored, controlled and closed. Many organizations also deploy a related but separate “action plan” to realize the operating model.

What are strategic measures and metrics?

Measures are observable results that allow organizations to assess the effectiveness of their action plans. Metrics quantify observed changes to allow an organization to concretely calculate its progress and stay aligned with its chosen metrics.

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