Strategic planning is a term often used to describe long-term and often grand initiatives. We have all heard about expansive strategic planning undertaken by large companies. It often involves the employment of a huge team of consultants and can last months and even years. It may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some conventional wisdom says that strategic planning is just for large companies and public sector entities. This is simply not true.
We deal extensively with entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are special people who have decided to run their own business and take the related risks. They typically give their businesses total commitment, are strongly motivated, and often persevere when others falter. Entrepreneurs want to feel in control of their circumstances and the future, and that is why strategic planning for business owners is so important.
Many businesses are so busy with day to day activity that they just don’t have time to plan. They lack clear direction and go off in different directions, often all at once. This results in the owners reacting to events rather than having clear goals and direction. This is time consuming, costly, and frustrating. To avoid this, the answer is strategic planning.
Wagner Noble & Company employs a process that allows small and mid-sized companies to develop and adopt a strategic plan, essentially in one day’s time. This process allows a company’s owners to take time away from the heat of battle and to really listen to each other, often for the first time. Using a trained facilitator, this process allows them to work beyond short-term problems, to write down elements of the plan, and to agree to actions and a review process.
We utilize The Strategic Planning Toolkit, developed by Harris Walters Limited. The toolkit consists of 14 modules, including all the topics listed below.
Personal objectives Business objectives
Agreed strategic objectives Existing products and services
Potential products and services Sales and marketing
Location Management information systems
Owners’ roles Strategic financial modeling
Action plans Review processes
Working through these modules allows the business owners to begin to feel in control and to gain focus and direction. They move on to generate new ideas on improved profitability and to develop an understanding of what all owners want. Finally, they come to benefit from inspiration and renewed motivation. As a result, they agree to a rolling 5 year strategic plan and a related review and monitoring process.
Ask us about how a strategic planning initiative might benefit you.
