Strategic Planning Process – The Ultimate Guide
November 9, 2018
Introduction
The Strategic Planning Process is a means for evaluating your business or organization. The process involves developing a plan for success. There are many versions of the process but the following strategic planning steps summarizes what is necessary to create the plan. The process of strategic planning involves hard work and an honest evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the entity. Anyone setting out to create a plan must first understand the process of strategic planning. It is not a one or two hour exercise. It involves a total examination of the business. It is a top to bottom and everything in between examination. Look at each step and make everyone the most important part of the process. We recommend talking with other experts prior to embarking on this journey.
Evaluate the Present
How to create a strategic plan starts at the beginning. What is the current state of the business? This involves honesty and a detailed examination of the good and the bad. This first step is at the heart of what is strategic planning process. It is a total blueprint for success. If an owner or owners are not willing to dissect what they are going and determine what works and what does work, then the rest of the plan will not matter.
You take one part of the business and say you are doing great in that area. You than leave that part of the rest of the plan. That is a recipe for failure. There is no part of any organization that cannot be improved. For example, Post Acute Care is a new cost that many need to fully understand in order to cut down on. In summary, examine every part of the business and get ready to make improvements as you plan.
Identify What Really Matters
This may be the most important part of the strategic planning steps. It involves deciding what is important. What makes the business tick. If you had to cut something out of the plan, what are the parts that are off limits. You are probably already doing something similar with your budget but if you are already having trouble with a static budget you should check out this resource. The process of strategic planning works when you identify your strengths and figure out how to make them better. It is as simple as saying why I am doing this?
What Are Your Goals
Where do you want to be one, two, or five years in the future? The goal can be a certain revenue or profit figure. It can involve expansion, either internally or more locations. You have to set goals before you can devise a plan to meet those goals. The goals should be bold but also need to be at least somewhat realistic. The next step will not happen unless there is a legitimate means of meeting the goals.
How to Achieve Those Goals
Implementation is one of the more daunting strategic planning process steps. You evaluate your business, determine what is important, and then set goals. All those steps are crucial and cannot be skipped. When it comes time to actually figure out how to make everything work it becomes much harder. This is where the strategic planning process either succeeds or fails. This is where technology and its uses become important. You are going to likely find places where you can cut costs, but you need to be educated before cutting those costs. You must take into account technological changes or else achieving goals will be lost to the rapid advances in an environment that changes on almost a daily basis.
Evaluate and Evaluate More
The strategic planning process never ends. A great plan this year may be out of date next week or next year. Nothing is more certain than change. The plan must be constantly reviewed. Evaluations must be honest. There must be a willingness to admit the strategic planning plan has faults and needs to be updated and changed. Success depends upon this step be fully implemented.