Blog post written by Deb Dietz, SMB Value Partners, Inc.
Strategic Planning Checklist -
The First Step: Analysis
This is the time of year when companies are working feverishly to complete their 2016 strategic plans and operating budgets.
In case you’re among those that need to jump start the process, or get ‘unstuck’, following these steps can get you where you need to go. Analysis is the critical first step in the planning process. Invest your time here before jumping into the following steps which include Plan Formulation, Action Planning, Execution, and Continuous Improvement. Those checklist steps will follow in subsequent blog posts.
In the Analysis step, your objectives are to gather, analyze, and summarize information. You focus on information relating to the organization’s value proposition, internal factors and external forces likely to impact your short and long-term success. Important questions to ask include:
Here is a checklist of possible information / data sets you should consider gathering and analyzing. The data sets will depend on your industry, your profession, or the area in which your organization specializes:
Internal Factors:
External Factors:
The type of information to collect for your strategic planning sessions depends on the information your team needs to draw conclusions and to make decisions. Invest the appropriate amount of time to decide on, gather and analyze these data sets. You may find that you need to gather additional information; that the above list is not sufficient. If so, consider engaging all levels of employees, via an employee survey. This effort does two things:
For those of you who are already well on the way to developing your 2016 plan and operating budget, I encourage you to take a step back and pause, reflecting on the checklist above. If you find that you have not fully reviewed the internal factors and external forces facing your organization, stop and do it now, before you move forward into the Plan Formulation process. Your diligence in the planning effort will position you well in attaining your vision and accomplishing your mission.
Thanks for reading our SMB Value Partners' Blog. We would appreciate your comments and / or a "Like".
Visit our web pages and learn about our capabilities, how we might help you, and to read all of our blogs at: SMB Value Partners Blog Posts
Click here to see the next Post in this Blog Series
Strategic Planning Checklist -
The First Step: Analysis
This is the time of year when companies are working feverishly to complete their 2016 strategic plans and operating budgets.
In case you’re among those that need to jump start the process, or get ‘unstuck’, following these steps can get you where you need to go. Analysis is the critical first step in the planning process. Invest your time here before jumping into the following steps which include Plan Formulation, Action Planning, Execution, and Continuous Improvement. Those checklist steps will follow in subsequent blog posts.
In the Analysis step, your objectives are to gather, analyze, and summarize information. You focus on information relating to the organization’s value proposition, internal factors and external forces likely to impact your short and long-term success. Important questions to ask include:
- Are the leaders and managers in your organization basing their business decisions on personal opinions?
- Are they basing their decisions on anecdotal information?
- Are those decisions based on isolated incidents, situations or circumstances?
- And, a big question – does your organization focus too heavily on internal matters and too little on its competitors or customers?
- the nature and scope of the information/data your planning session will require
- how you will obtain that information/data
- how you will make the information/data available to your team
- how the planning team will use the relevant data/information
Here is a checklist of possible information / data sets you should consider gathering and analyzing. The data sets will depend on your industry, your profession, or the area in which your organization specializes:
Internal Factors:
- Management issues. Analyze your management team's willingness and ability to make decisions in a timely manner. Do they have the ability to attain, analyze, and make decisions on valid and credible data and information?
- Financial issues. Analyze your access to needed capital. Do you have enough money to install, maintain, or update your systems, processes, technologies? Do you have enough money to support the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sales effort to meet or exceed revenue and profit margin requirements?
- Human resource issues. Analyze if your employees have the required knowledge, skills and abilities to achieve organizational objectives? Does management empower employees at all levels to make prudent decisions and take needed action? Is your employee base sufficient in number to support needed growth and expansion? Do they understand your organization’s mission and vision? Are they properly and appropriately selected, managed, supervised, compensated, recognized, rewarded, promoted, and loyal to the organization?
- Value creation issues. Does your organization have the ability to determine the relevancy of your current product, program, service portfolio and create new value through effective new product development processes? Analyze your pricing strategy. Does the economic value of your products justify the price you’re charging your customers?
- Technology issues. Are you focused on knowledge management and sharing? Are your employees equipped with the appropriate hardware, software and access to data and information appropriate for them to do their jobs efficiently and effectively? Analyze advances in technology to identify opportunities to change the way you currently conduct business, provide services and develop and distribute products.
- Research and Development issues. Are you building a pipeline of future value and making the appropriate investments now to support long-term growth objectives?
- Supply chain issues. Are you focusing on the relationships you have with suppliers, distribution channel partners, strategic alliances, vendors?
External Factors:
- Your competition. Analyze competitor size and comparison to your organization, their capabilities and capacity, their reputation, and the likelihood your competitor will defend against your emerging new strategy.
- Market conditions. Analyze market segment growth potential and rate, threat of new competitors entering the target market, and current and emerging price pressures exerted on your industry:
- Is the market size increasing, decreasing or remaining static?
- Is demand increasing, decreasing or remaining static?
- Are your product or service needs and/or expectations changing or remaining static?
- Are purchase decisions based on cost, innovation, or customer service considerations changing or remaining static?
- Are pricing requirements changing or remaining static?
- Competitive issues. Analyze current and prospective competitor’s business models and strategies, distribution networks, market share, customer base, and market growth rate. Further, analyze how each competitor strives to increase their market share, how they differentiate their products and services, and then analyze how your organization has countered these competitive strategies. Analyze the services and products similar to yours to explore implications for your organization’s purpose, mission and vision and the value your organization brings to its various stakeholder groups.
- Government. Analyze regulations, policies, rules, incentives, and controls.
- Technology. Analyze trends influencing your ability to develop products or deliver services, and the needs and expectations of your customers and clients.
- Economy. Analyze the impact of the economy on the buying patterns of your customers and clients.
- Suppliers. Analyze your supplier’s ‘power’ and your buyers ‘power’.
The type of information to collect for your strategic planning sessions depends on the information your team needs to draw conclusions and to make decisions. Invest the appropriate amount of time to decide on, gather and analyze these data sets. You may find that you need to gather additional information; that the above list is not sufficient. If so, consider engaging all levels of employees, via an employee survey. This effort does two things:
- You engage your employees to provide invaluable insight into their perceptions of the organization, and
- Supports their ability to buy-in and support the strategic plan that is developed. Since the plan will ultimately be implemented by committed employees, gaining their insight and support is critical for success.
For those of you who are already well on the way to developing your 2016 plan and operating budget, I encourage you to take a step back and pause, reflecting on the checklist above. If you find that you have not fully reviewed the internal factors and external forces facing your organization, stop and do it now, before you move forward into the Plan Formulation process. Your diligence in the planning effort will position you well in attaining your vision and accomplishing your mission.
Thanks for reading our SMB Value Partners' Blog. We would appreciate your comments and / or a "Like".
Visit our web pages and learn about our capabilities, how we might help you, and to read all of our blogs at: SMB Value Partners Blog Posts
Click here to see the next Post in this Blog Series
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