The Only Establishment That Doesn’t Need Strategic Planning Systems!
The Only Establishment That Doesn’t Need Strategic Planning Systems!
discover | Thursday - 25 / 07 / 2024 - 1:42 pm
“Stop being stubborn! You need a strategic plan management system!” Yes… I said it angrily in the middle of a calm discussion between two people sitting at the table next to mine, but – to be honest – I only said it to myself… At the mentioned table, a person (who described himself as an entrepreneur) sat, telling his friend about managing his company – which employs 32 employees – for 18 years without any strategic planning. He went on to explain that he had no intention of wasting time on a strategic plan because he knows everything about his company. Furthermore, he said that he doesn’t need anyone to come and tell him about the supposed future shape. What provoked me was his conclusion of the discussion with the phrase: “Strategic planning is a matter of the large establishments!”
Is strategic planning really reserved for large establishments?
Frankly, I’m completely fed up with small business owners ignoring the issue of ‘strategic planning’… and I will not allow you to miss the opportunity to outperform your competitors!
Let’s get started…
Strategic planning in a nutshell:
First of all, strategic planning is not a waste of time. And it is not a substitute for your years of experience. Strategic planning typically involves assessing the internal and external environments of your business, then developing effective strategies to enable it to adapt to any changing environment, giving you a sustainable competitive advantage in your business field.
What is the strategic plan?
One of the main outputs of the strategic planning process is a document that includes the strategies you have identified to grow and expand your business over the coming years. This is your strategic plan. It is also a tool that you can use to align, motivate, and lead your team, along a clear and focused path to achieve the results that were identified in the planning process.
The strategic plan should not be confused with the business plan:
– the business plan outlines the full operations of a new business and indicates how much funding you need to turn your idea into a reality.
– On the other hand, you can use the strategic plan to see where your business is currently and identify where you want to go in the future.
Reasons for Adopting Strategic Planning Systems:
The volatility of the business environment leads many companies to adopt reactive strategies rather than proactive ones. The issue – which I assume is clear – is that reactive strategies are only viable in the short term, even though they may require a significant amount of resources and time to implement!
Strategic planning helps organizations prepare proactively and address problems from a long-term perspective. In other words, strategic planning allows your company to start playing the role of an influencer instead of just responding to emergencies.
Some of key benefits of strategic planning systems include:
Enhancing the overall performance:
Strategic planning systems play a crucial role in formulating better strategies through a logical and methodical approach, and coincidentally, this may be the most significant benefit. Studies have shown that the strategic planning process itself contributes significantly to improving overall organizational performance (regardless of the success of any particular strategy).
Strategic planning systems help you develop a growth strategy for your organization:
Research indicates that the primary reason for “quiet quitting” is employees’ lack of understanding of how their work contributes to the organization’s growth.
A strategic planning system, such as Logix, helps you clearly define your priorities for this period. It also helps you identify implementation strategies and assign responsibilities. This allows each employee to understand their role in executing the overall vision.
In parallel, strategic planning also helps managers and employees demonstrate their commitment to the organization’s goals. It transforms these organizational goals and objectives into tangible realities.
As a result, both employees and managers are more likely to become more innovative and creative, further fueling the company’s growth.
Enhance stakeholder support ratio:
By developing a strategic plan, you convey a clear message that you’re committed to the organization’s success, and you have a vision for where you want to take it (and how).
For your information, this is what excites stakeholders (whether investors or customers), and makes them more willing to lend their support.
It helps you see great business opportunities:
Remember that a strategic plan brings a lot of clarity to the direction you will take in your business. Therefore, it is your trump card in choosing the best business opportunities.
Without strategic planning systems, you may tend to choose business opportunities based on your gut feeling. At first, this may seem like you are exercising business flexibility, but believe me when I tell you that this is far from the truth.
Contribute to improving your marketing strategies:
Strategic planning systems encourage you to conduct market research because this is one of the fundamental things that drives targeted strategies. For example, you will quickly learn about the unique context in which you stand out. In addition, you will discover who your main competitors and customers are and set goals to increase your market share.
With this intelligence and the clarity of your strategic plan, here is a magical advantage: you will be able to eliminate inconsistencies between your marketing brochures, website, email newsletter, and so on.
When your strategic plan guides you in the direction you want to go, you can then confidently differentiate yourself in the market.
Enhance revenue flow for the establishment:
During the strategic planning process, estimating expected revenue is a crucial activity. It compels you to not only assess the amount of revenue but also the sources from which that revenue will flow.
By utilizing this information, you are more likely to achieve your goals because you are aware of them and have chosen meaningful strategies to attain them.
Reduce your feeling of being drained:
Thanks to the strategic planning system, you now have a strategic plan. Everyone is aware of the desired outcomes and their role in helping to achieve them. This takes the proverbial “load off your back”!
Which strategic planning systems are the best?
There are many templates available to help you create a strategic plan using just a pen and paper. But Logix has a better way that allows you to:
– Set goals, determine how to achieve them, and share them with those who need to know.
– Gain insight into the values of your organization.
– Develop core values, specialized goals, and long-term goals that everyone in your organization can access.
– Create a future vision to let you know what needs to happen now.
– Simplify and streamline your operations
– Easily update and track changes.
– Achieve alignment across your entire organization.
And you can do all of this through a unified interface.
In Logix’ Vision tool, you can easily access all of the things that make strategic plans effective:
– Executive summary
– Mission statement
– Vision statement
– Goals
– SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats).
– Key performance indicators (KPIs)
– Industry/market analysis
– Marketing plan
– Operational plan
– Financial projections.
What is the only establishment that does not need strategic planning systems?!
It is the establishment looking to exit the market, where owners prefer to make choices based on intuition or insufficient information. However, I am sure you are smarter than that. Acting proactively is complex in an era of constant change, which is why Logix system is here to help. We are here to assist you in evaluating the performance of the chosen strategy after implementation because, as they say, success today does not guarantee success tomorrow.
