Strategy Planning

Strategy Planning can be easy. The content on this page will help you think about getting started with strategy planning. Sometimes, that’s the hardest!

Why is Strategy Planning Important?

You’ve heard the saying that if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere. I remember first reading that sign in Mr. Bailey’s homeroom class when I was in 7^th grade. He had another one next to the clock that read, “Time passes, will you?”

Strategy planning is important because it gives you a sense of purpose about achieving your winning aspiration, where you want to play, how you’ll win, what capabilities you will use, and what management practices you’ll employ.

There’s a terrific book where I learned this called, “Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works” by A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin.

What is Most Important in Strategy Planning?

Aside from determining your answers to the five questions above, I think it is most important to keep your strategy planning efforts simple. Here’s what I mean:

The Annual Strategy Planning Session

We’ve all been to the annual strategy planning session. Perhaps you were a leader in a session and maybe would like to forget most of them.

Here’s how they go:

1. Get out last year’s plan.
2. Do a financial look-back.
3. Talk about what went right and wrong. (And realize you might not have looked at the plan since last year (See step 10).
4. Spruce up the vision statement.
5. re-jigger the mission statement to make sure it still “meets our values.”
6. Talk about how your competitors are weak and unfocused.
7. Update current strategies and tactics.
8. Set some growth goals.
9. Assign someone to write up the plan and agree to meet for quarterly strategy planning updates and adjust course.
10. Receive the final plan and place it in a desk file.

In Conclusion

Okay. I’m being a bit silly. Or am I?

Strategy planning doesn’t need to be like the steps listed above. Imagine if you created a simple plan that answered the five questions above and met monthly for a 20-minute stand-up meeting to see how things are going?

Can strategy be that simple? Yes, I believe it can. And the sooner we start democratizing strategy so everyone has a hand in it (Because they do), the more we will win.

That’s what I’m going to write about on this page, and the one about generating strategy ideas. So if you’re into that, stop back often. And leave a comment below about your planning process.

If you’d like a free pdf that I put together about how to make your customers and prospects feel special, fill out the form below. Or, if you’d like to schedule a time to discuss something you’re working on, email me at Joel@makemarketingeasy.com.

Good luck and good marketing and selling!