Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is an effective tool, which gives a clear definition on the ultimate objectives and goals related to an organization and helps the organization to focus on its resources, while making the members or workers to work towards their goals.  In other words, Strategic Planning is a regimented effort to analyze certain things like: the objectives of the organization, why it’s doing that and what is it going to do in the changing environment or future.

An approach to Strategic Planning starts with SWOT (Internal Strength, Internal Weakness, External Opportunities, and External Threat) analysis of the organization, which is important to analyze various factors like competitors, varying demographics, etc. A business plan is different from a strategic plan but the strategic plan provides the framework and the foundation for a business plan.

Effective Strategic Planning process is as follows:

• A Realistic vision development should be presented.
• Hard or Soft Statements about Mission, the description about the purpose of the organization should be given.
• Addressing the Values which govern the function of the business and the relationship with others like customers, employees and stakeholders.
• The main element ‘the Objectives’ is what an organization needs to achieve within the planned period of time.
• Setting Strategies which are essential tools to achieve Mission and Objectives. Strategies decide the business plan as a whole, like the organization’s growth, future plans, cash flow, introducing products in future and decisions on break-even point.
• Goals are the time-based measurements which are achieved by implementing Strategies.
• Programs are the elements, the process of implementation of the key strategies which covers the resources planning, objectives, work plans, budgets, goals, deadlines time scales, etc.

Proper Communication in the Strategic Planning is a significant element which is considered as a measure for quality planning. Planning processes should be flexible and evolved to bring continuous improvement. The targets require a shift from business since different organizations have different parameters.

Thinking about strategy planning as the ecology system can help the organization to make decisions and plans that affect the network it depends upon. The health of the biological eco system is depended on the organisms in the environment. Just like that the health of one organization or business can affect the well being of the entire business environment. The health of an organization depends on an effective and powerful Strategic Planning.