Strategic Planning for Success in a Recession
Think Strategically to Survive in Business During the Downturn
Feb 2, 2009
A good strategic plan is the foundation for building solid business directions. Done well, a sound strategic plan is one of the best investments a business will ever make, economic downturn or not.
Templates for strategic planning are plentiful. Most offer good ideas and frameworks. But only you can supply the content. If there is one single imperative it is: be certain you build your company's strategic plan from within.
Following are six sets of guidelines your company can use to build your strategic plan. These can also be used by charitable and other not-for-profit organizations.
Define Your Company's Characteristics
Your first step is to identify your company’s primary characteristics. That is, you need to figure out what the company is all about now, and what you want it to be in the future. To define those characteristics you will need to understand not only what business the company is in, but also the opportunities available to it, its business environment, and the company’s operating philosophy.
Vision, Values, Mission
A company embarking on strategic planning is well advised to begin by defining or redefining its vision. This should be followed by understanding the company’s values – that is, what are its priorities in terms of products, customers, suppliers, investors and shareholders, and the environment. The vision and values are the building blocks for the next step -- setting out the company’s mission. This should be a clear statement that summarizes the company’s purpose for being.
Key Success Factors
The strategic plan needs a careful assessment of all key factors in the company’s operating environment that will, or are likely to, affect it immediately and in the foreseeable future.
These include economic factors like the recession-plagued economy, demographic factors, geographic factors, industry and competition, technology, sector trends versus fads, and relevant political factors.
Understand the Facts
The intelligence gathered and decisions tentatively made thus far need to be analyzed carefully and thoroughly, as each can affect the company’s plans and ability to succeed.
There are many ways to do this analysis. A simple but effective means is the classic SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It may not be the most thorough, but used properly, it will yield actionable insights a company needs for its strategic plan.
Questions to Help You Plan
In strategic planning, some of the most obvious questions are the most difficult to answer, but yield the most valuable results. Here is a list of such questions:
- Why am I doing this?
- What business are we in, and Why?
- Where are we now, where do we want to be, what to we need to do to get there?
- What are our basic requirements to achieve our goals: i.e., people, skills, resources?
- How do we define our goals in ways that are specific, measurable, realistic, attainable, time-specific?
- What resources do we need, what resources do we have now now?
- Do we need/can we get lenders, investors, shareholders, partners?
- What monitoring and tracking systems do we have now, and what additional systems do we need?
Are We Organized Appropriately?
Finally, planners must ask: is the way our company structured appropriate to achieving the company’s intended goals and actions?
Rather than some arbitrary structure, the company’s organizational structure should be based on how best to implement its action plans, how best to address its market, and to reach its objectives.
Above all, smart strategic planning means asking the right questions about the immediate and wider environment in which it operates, recognizing relevant answers, then packaging the results in a usable form. It is the first step. The next step is put the strategic plan into action -- in the company’s business plan, or operating plan, for the coming year.
 |
 |
