Legendary basketball coach and teacher John Wooden said "failing to prepare is preparing to fail." Strategic planning is the counter to that potential dark abyss.
Strategic planning helps leaders and companies be most efficient with time, money and results. Wooden would take more time planning his team's practices than the practices themselves took. Hall of Fame football coach Bill Walsh would plan in advance every minute of his San Francisco 49ers' six weeks of training camp so there was no wasted time.
Keep in mind "while company planning typically is solidified at the end of the year, the best strategic plans are flexible by design," said Sam Reese, CEO of Vistage, an executive coaching firm. "This enables companies to adapt to unexpected challenges or opportunities that inevitably arise throughout the year."
Strategic planning without action is empty. Action without a plan is akin to Wooden's quote of "Never mistake activity for achievement."
Commit Strategic Planning Concisely To Paper
Write your strategic plan down in a document and "hold yourself to just a couple of pages of content," recommends Amanda Teder, chief marketing officer for Generac, an energy technology company.
Teder adds that doing so helps you to organize your thinking effectively. By limiting the length of the document, "you're forced to become more intentional and concise."
Keep It Simple
Upon completion of a strategic plan, you can then summarize the strategy in another medium, such as a bullet-point presentation. Effective summarizing makes it "easier to present to a larger group and easier for a larger group to digest quickly," she said.
"When strategic plans get too complex, they often become forgotten or abandoned by companies in midyear," Reese said. "The best strategic plans are measurable, actionable and concise enough that the team can review them frequently throughout the year to ensure they are on track."
Curate A Conducive Planning Environment
As companies plan for each new year or new phase, consider organizing a timely off-site event that fosters collaboration and strategic thinking among your team, said Melissa Di Donato, CEO of Kyriba. Kyriba provides a financial performance platform for CFOs.
"Off-sites are a powerful strategic tool," she said. "Off-sites allow leaders to meet in person in a less-formal physical environment. This further facilitates sharing of ideas, creativity and strategic planning without the constraints of day-to-day routines."
Implement Logistics When Strategic Planning
For a plan to succeed, the necessary resources have to be in place, Teder says. This minimizes roadblocks in the execution phase.
With strategy in place, teams can begin the financial logistics of planning.
It's inherent that "the strategy guides their investment choices," she said. "Building a new plan each year provides flexibility to address the top opportunities and business priorities ahead."
Ensure The Right Team Is In Place
A critical piece of creating a successful plan is recognizing that effectiveness hinges not only on the clarity and robustness of the plan itself, "but also on the people tasked with executing it," Di Donato said.
Having the right, diverse set of leaders in place is essential. "A plan for the future must also come with empowering every employee to think differently and innovate," she said.
Further she said, leaders must "affirm their team's capabilities, set clear roles and expectations, and ensure team members are invested as both plan shapers and accountable implementers."
This can be particularly necessary when your team has already achieved impressive results. Guard against those who "have a 'set it and forget it' mindset," Di Donato said.
Strategic Planning Takes Leadership
Be bold about objectives. Leaders have the responsibility to shape the future and inspire those around them to be the driving force that propels the organization forward, Di Donato said.
"Clear steps, consistent feedback, frequent evaluation and readiness to pivot will ensure your team remains aligned and motivated toward achieving the goals in your strategic plan," she added.
Know The Score When Strategic Planning
You've got a strategy, you've implemented the logistics to accomplish it, but how do you know you're on the right track?
"Determine what the key performance indicators (KPIs) are," Reese said. "Successful leaders collaborate with employees and trusted peers during this review process to determine what to prioritize."
From there, high-performing leaders select a handful of KPIs that they expect will yield the most significant impact on the business.
"These benchmarks create accountability and transparency, as leaders can clearly communicate the goals throughout the organization and rally employees behind them," Reese said. "This empowers teams to ensure their goals match their organization's overarching KPIs."
