Strategic Planning Should Not be Difficult
Every business owner realises that they need one but at the end of the day it’s generally “all too hard” and no FREE STRATEGIC PLANNING TEMPLATE makes it any easier. So we push on into the new year with enthusiasm and caffeine fuelled motivation, but with no strategic plan. I have a business colleague who heads up a business unit for a multinational that turns over a billion dollars a year and he always develops a Strategic Plan at the start of each year. It’s a measly six pages long!
By the way we have a FREE STRATEGIC PLANNING TEMPLATE if you would like one, just email us and we’ll send you one.
So before I give you some thoughts on what your Strategic Plan should contain lets briefly look at what I think the difference is between a Strategic Plan and Business Plan.
You’ll want to create a Business Plan when you are looking to:
- Start a new company
- Organise your thoughts
- Judge the viability of your business idea
- Identify your general business strategy
- Understand potential financial results
- Present to banks or investors for financing
And you’ll want to create a Strategic Plan in order to:
- Grow an existing business
- Identify the best opportunities for growth
- Determine and prioritise your Financial and Human Resource needs
- Effectively communicate your plan to your team
- Provide a detailed and focused game plan
As you can imagine, strategic planning is reserved for business owners/entrepreneurs who are serious about growing their companies. And strategic plans are the single biggest factor that separates average business owners from super-successful business owners….
A great strategic plan, is the kind that works big time and is one that eliminates all “strategy execution gaps” so that achieving the desired results is straightforward.
So, let me briefly run through what I believe are some of the keys to a great strategic plan.
The strategic planning process should produce the following:
- Executive Summary
- “What we do” Pitch
- Company Mission Statement
- SWOT Analysis
- Goals
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Target Customers
- Industry Analysis
- Competitive Analysis & Advantage
- Marketing Plan
- Team
- Operations Plan
- Financial Projections
And the results?
You’ll have a plan with a great business strategy and a clear road map for your success.
