Management Strategic Planning

A Strategic Planning System takes into account the following:

• A market analysis
• The strengths and weaknesses of your business
• The products and services you offer
• The resources that are available
• The goals, objectives and measures that you have established for your business

The system then shows you how to develop a set of strategies and action plans – and to arrange them in such a way that vastly increases your chances of having a sustainable, profitable long term business.

At its most basic level, strategy has four simple components:

1. Knowing where you want to end up
2. Knowing what to put your energy into
3. Knowing the methodology of applying your energy
4. Knowing parameters for the inevitable end games

Strategic planning system includes the following major activities:

• Strategic Analysis - Typically includes conducting some sort of scan, or review, of your business environment – and doing that on an ongoing basis. Setting Strategic Direction - Coming to conclusions about what you must do as a result of the major issues and opportunities facing your business. These conclusions include what overall accomplishments you want to achieve, how you will measure progress, and the high-level methods you will use to achieve the accomplishments.
• Action Planning - Carefully laying out how your strategic goals will be accomplished. Each goal should be associated with a tactic(s), which is / are the methods needed to reach the goal. Action planning also includes specifying responsibilities and timelines with each objective, or who needs to do what, and by when. It should also include methods to monitor and evaluate the plan.
• Creating Reserves – Reserves are a way to help you deal with the unexpected. Reserves can be time allotted to deal with new opportunities, outsourcing partners available as needed, joint venture or affiliate partners, extra money, flexible work processes, etc. The point is, you need to be able to respond to events as well as plan for them. Strategy should be a roadmap but allow for the possibility of detours.

The strategic planning system helps keep your business venture on track from the get-go without allowing for distractions that are inherent in poor planning.

The system takes into account focus, accountability, and realistic requirements. Every aspect of the business venture must be itemised and planned, consistent with your strategic plans.