A Word or Two About Strategic Planning
Much like growing old, the Strategic Planning process is not for the faint of heart. It’s also not for organizations that cut corners or seek quick fixes. And, it’s especially not for companies that are not committed to the Implementation process, which is exponentially more difficult — and requires even more discipline — than the process of developing a Plan in the first place.
Some people in today’s world believe that Strategic Plans, with their 3-5 year time horizons, are a management tool whose time has come and gone. After all, goes the conventional wisdom, given the speed and constancy with which change is occurring, most Plans are obsolete before they’re even published.
We beg to disagree. Collins/Fox believes Strategic Planning is all about competing with yourself. About deciding what you want to be and then being it. On some level, it doesn’t really matter what the newest technological breakthrough is. Or, what the competition is doing. The only thing that really matters is doing what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it. Accomplishing your Mission. Achieving your Objectives and Goals. And, implementing your Strategies. Because, if you are able to do that, everything else is just background noise.
Planning: Easy. Implementing: Hard.
We live in a relative world. And though the Planning process and strategic decision-making are not especially easy, when compared to the Implementation process, they’re a walk in the park.
The Planning Process
In many organizations, the Planning process begins with a Planning Conference (we refer to them as conferences since Planning Retreat implies backward movement). Collins/Fox has facilitated many Planning Conferences over the years. They can be challenging. Time management is always an issue. Keeping participants from wandering off agenda is another. It’s frequently difficult to get participants to think strategically rather than spending their time “down in the weeds” of detail (Tactics).
The Planning process is about input. A feast of information must be quickly digested including current and trended financial performance, peer comparisons, and the identification of Key Strategic Issues of both an internal and external nature. It’s aspirational. What do we want to accomplish? It’s about acknowledging that we can’t do it all, so we must make difficult choices between seemingly equally attractive alternatives. And, without getting distracted by the latest and greatest “next new thing”. It’s a structured, disciplined process that can’t be hurried. Its value is leveraged when input is received from multiple, though often contradictory, points of view. It builds upon itself in a logical, consistent manner.
Mission Statements must be written or updated. Objectives and Goals must be established. And, a manageable number of Strategic Initiatives must be agreed to and prioritized. Importantly, once strategic decisions are made, it requires everyone in the organization to climb on board…or climb off. No cowboys, off doing their own thing, allowed.
Once the heavy lifting has been completed, Operating Plans (with one year time horizons) must be written. These are the myriad of steps that must be taken to get strategies implemented. Budgets, too, must be set and, in the process of doing so, a basic business question must be answered: do Plans drive Budgets or do Budgets drive Plans? Finally, pro forma Income Statements and Balance Sheets must be prepared to determine if all of the proposed effort makes financial sense.
When done right, the Planning process is a marathon, not a sprint. Consistency is required, yet change is inevitable. When companies implement their Plans and achieve their Goals and Objectives, then it really doesn’t matter what the competition is doing because success has been achieved. Collins/Fox can help you achieve planning success.
Services provided include:
* Planning Conference Facilitation
* (Assistance with) Plan Preparation
* (Assistance with) Financial Projections
* (Assistance with) Budget Preparation
Collins/Fox Strategies Group, LLC 