douglas

Hello Mike:

A number of us have had discussions recently about the frequency of updating strategic plans for our businesses. Some suggest that once a plan is in place that minor tweaking is required while others take a contrary view and are adamant that strategic updates should be comprehensive and regularly scheduled. In light of recent economic turmoil what does your experience say?

My answer lies ‘somewhere in the middle’

If a comprehensive strategic plan has been crafted, the last thing you want to do is to complete a laborious update or rewrite a year later.

That said, give the exceptionally challenging and ever changing times that we are experiencing, an annual ‘tweaking’ or fine tuning exercise is not enough.

My recommendation is that an ‘annual strategic review’ be conducted by the management team, ideally at an off site location, for one day if time permits.

Five key areas should be covered:

 Present Position – using an external and internal size up process

 Strategic Direction – review and assess the present pathway and an emerging alternatives

 Required Resources – internal and external

 Risks (Mitigation) – uncontrollable and controllable

 Future Success Indicators – where the organization will be in two years

This process has enough depth to be effective yet is time and resource sensitive,

Best wishes,

Mike

If I can add one more comment here, when it comes to maintaining a strategic plan, I use frequently in my consulting work the S.M.A.R.T. tool, recommended in the book you co-authored Mike: the 2nd Edition of the “Business Diagnostics” (Trafford Publishing 2006).

So when it comes to conducting the ‘annual strategic review’ Mike was referring to in his earlier post, having Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-framed articulated strategies makes the review process easier to track and monitor.

Another tool I use quite frequently that has proven time and time again to be an effective tool to conduct a “quick strategic temperature check” is the Strategy Canvas by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. The Factors of Competition used in crafting a company strategy provide a very concise picture to assess what is working and what is not.

Just my two cents.


Betina Albornoz
Argenta Business Solutions
Strategic Business & Marketing Management