“Strategic planning” is commonly used terminology to describe a myriad of methods used by organizations to determine their focus, direction and measures of success. Processes used and time invested in planning ranges from one day “retreats” to endless meetings that go on for months, regardless of the extent and success of previous planning efforts. Despite the widespread use of the terms and practice, unfortunately, few organizations get all that they are seeking from strategic planning.

Different organizations (and many strategic planning consultants) typically excel at one element of strategic thinking and business planning processes. For example:

• People involved in the process may be particularly adept at creative thinking and envisioning a bold future, yet they fall short of capturing that future in a written plan that guides actions to fulfill their purpose and achieve their bold vision.
• Others invest great effort in creating a written plan only to let it gather dust on a shelf. Some groups develop workable plans then fail to implement or fail to measure their results effectively.
• Others focus clearly on financial results while neglecting the leadership, human development, resources and systems factors necessary to produce these results efficiently while leveraging the “collective genius” of the organization.
• All too many who invest in long-term planning fail to cascade the plan effectively down to the daily work of “rank-and-file” of the organization. In effect, many businesses do strategic planning without any sustainable benefit other than to say “we did it” (or if you work closer to the front line, “they did it”).

 

 

Success is the continual achievement of your own predetermined goals, stabilized by balance and purified by belief.

There is a better way.
Strategic thinking and business planning processes should help you create a clear sense of purpose, direction and focus for all stakeholders that is measurable, sustainable, requires involvement and drives the actions of everyone – yes, everyone – in the organization to achieve predetermined results. The organization that effectively creates and executes a “strategic plan” will leverage its organizational genius and define:

1. Who are we? 
   • Our reason for being; 
   • What do we believe and value; 
   • The needs that we exist to meet; 
   • The "business" that we are in.
2. Where are we going?
   • How our organization, 
   • our customers, 
   • and/or society as a whole will be different as we progress along the road to accomplishing our reason for being (or when you actually accomplish it!).
3. How we will get to where we are going.

Together, these three issues offer a plan for success that allows people to understand what success means to the organization and how to know when success is being achieved. Thinking and planning around these provide the roadmap for implementation:

     4.  Continuously doing what needs to be done, by whom, in order to get to where we are going.
Subscribe to a definition of success that works as well for your organization as it does each individual or business unit within the organization. Choose processes that provide a format for developing a Strategic Plan, taking that strategy through the business planning process and establishing measurable goals. These processes will involve not only determining where your company is going, but how it is going to get there. 

Mark A. Sturgell, CBC, is a Certified Business Coach and president of Performance Developmnet Network. Mark coaches individuals, teams and organizations to achieve the measurable results they really want. Visit http://www.pdncoach.com to learn more about how Mark can help you, your team and your organization.

Copyright 2007-2012 Mark A. Sturgell. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give author name credit.

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Confused about balance sheets?

Balance Sheet Basics refreshes key terminology.

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Windows 7…why now?

Why are you writing about this again…well there is new information and extended deadlines that may have a major impact on your decision to upgrade…Windows 7, does offer a number of benefits. However, it’s important to consider if upgrading makes sense for your organization and how to implement. Decide whether Windows is a good fit for your organization, and here are some tips on how.

First, if you’re running Vista you can run Windows 7. Windows 7 is available in a 32-bit and a 64-bit version. These versions do have different requirements: Check your computer\'s specifications, go to My Computer on your desktop or on the Start menu, and right-click Properties. You can also use Microsoft’s downloadable Windows Upgrade Advisor.

You should also find out if your programs are compatible with Windows 7. Determine what software you have. Inventory all your computers for all your software programs.  Check if your software is compatible with Windows 7. The Windows Upgrade Advisor can help identify potential issues. You should also check your vendors\' websites to make sure your programs run on Windows 7.

Windows 7 has a number of widely praised user interface enhancements, including better search functionality and more intuitive navigation. More importantly, it also includes many “under the hood” improvements: improved program compatibility, more flexible security options, simplified networking, backup and restore features that are vastly improved over XP\'s, new power-management features, easier IT support.

Once you decide to make the leap to Windows 7, you have two options for implementing it: an in-place upgrade or a custom install. Note that an in-place upgrade is only available for current Vista users; XP users will need to perform a custom install.

Support for Windows XP does not retire until 2014.  If Windows 7\'s new features aren’t relevant at the moment, if your users aren’t ready for it, or if you haven’t budgeted for the new hardware or software, Extended Windows XP could be a viable option.

For additional detailed information on this topic along with a number of helpful links go to www.techsoup.org and click on Learning Center.

Hopes this helps! If you need to ask a question that is more immediate, just email David Fowler at executivedirector@computerbanc.info.

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