Better Strategic Planning Process
Is there a new model for the dreaded strategic planning process?
Yes.
Many entrepreneurs treat the strategic planning process as a task to be shown on the calendar and ticked off in an hour or two of work. Not good enough.
Best practices for strategic planning:
- Book a half-day time slot every quarter to do some strategic planning and thinking. Do this yourself and ask key team members to do this too. Individually. Not as a group.
- Usually you should go somewhere outside of your office. Otherwise you will be constantly interrupted. Most don’t think you should go home or to the coffee shop either. A quiet place like a library or a church would be creative and conducive to good thinking. Be creative.
- The new model is to avoid the dreaded three-day strategic planning session led by someone where a massive group of staff sits around and bravely tries to contribute. Worse yet is the breakout group model.
- Do hold a two-hour meeting about twice a year with your key executives to compare notes on what they are thinking about in their own quarterly strategic planning time.
- Then after about six months of this, or maybe a year, you (the leader) should write a one-page strategic plan. Then preach it. And follow it.
Our great team assists clients daily with this and other strategy challenges. We help principled leaders excel!