[스크랩] The Ultimate Five Step Strategic Planning Process

Bring Your Strategic Planning Process to Life

Most entrepreneurs avoid writing a definitive business or strategic plan until they are forced to create one by a bank, investor or the SBA. These types of plans are more of a sales document than a true roadmap.  Others, treat strategic planning as a stand-alone exercise that is finished, filed and forgotten. These periodic planning events can cause as much harm as good.

Certainly, there are benefits to occasionally focusing on creating or updating your strategic and business plans. You uncover new information about your customers and competitors. You listen to new points of view that shape your thinking. You interview your key employees, gather market intelligence and analyze stakeholder survey results. The process culminates with “three days at the Radisson” where you and your key employees meet to brainstorm and decide on your company’s new direction. The end result is a beautifully bound document that is likely sitting on your credenza collecting dust.

These planning exercises usually create a temporary boost in morale for those who participate in the process and long-term resentment for those who are excluded. Participants like to feel part of the conversation. They become temporarily refreshed and re-energized. Those who are excluded, feel discounted, disconnected and disrespected.

Other flaws in a periodic planning process prevent you from enjoying long term benefits. Within just a few months, circumstances change, memories fade and strategic discipline gives way to old habits. The following are typical mistakes experienced by many organizations:

• The plan is not communicated to rank and file employees who continue to lack strategic focus.
• Key elements of the plan are not implemented.
• Critical information was not identified and considered because too few employees were involved in the process.
• Strategic Planning is an occasional exercise that does not become part of your organizational culture.

A better approach is to make strategic planning an ongoing, organic process that involves all of your employees. It is especially important to include frontline employees in your planning process. Frontline employees are the eyes and ears of your company. They speak to your customers. They negotiate with your vendors. They meet your competitors at trade shows. They work with your expensive equipment. They know what works and what is broken. Not including them in your strategic planning process denies your company the wisdom and insight of your most connected employees.

The following is a simple 5-step strategic planning process that is based on the tools and methods provided in the Breakthrough Book. Download your free copy now. Use the five steps to initiate a self-sustaining strategic planning process that engages frontline employees to fuel a continuous strategic improvement process:

1. Complete the Employee SWOT Survey and Analysis Worksheet to identify areas of strength, weakness, opportunity and threats.
2. Complete the Value Proposition Template to gather competitive intelligence and assess your company’s current competitive position.
3. Complete the Business Model Map to create an aligned set of improvement objectives at your company, department, and process-team levels.
4. Initiate the Communication Switchboard to engage employees in an ongoing, continuous strategic improvement cycle that is tied back to department, process and employee performance.
5. Complete the CEO Scorecard to identify, prioritize and monitor implementation of  your company’s strategic plan and related improvement projects.

 Step One: Survey Your Employees

Your Company’s strategic planning process needs a starting point. It is often helpful to begin with a company-wide survey. Use the survey to identify all of the recurring problems, concerns, snafus, complaints, and inefficiencies that impact the growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction of your business. It is like a company-wide data-dump. In addition to operational issues, you should also identify the leadership, management and organizational issues that negatively impact your business.

A “Memo Template,” Employee Survey,” and “Analysis Worksheet”  are available for free download along with your free copy of theBreakthrough Book.

• The “Memo Template” explains the purpose of the survey to your employees and provides instructions.  Customize it to serve the needs of your company.
• The “Employee Survey Template” uses a familiar SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) format that asks your employees to identify opportunities for saving money, making money, operating more efficiently, resolving problems and growing sales.
• The “Analysis Worksheet” helps you aggregate, categorize, prioritize and report survey responses.

Alternatively, you can use the same SWOT format suggested above to structure face-to-face employee interviews. Ask your employees what recurring customer complaints frustrate them?  What operational problems result in waste, inefficiency and avoidable expense? What cultural, leadership and employee issues create a drag on growth, quality and innovation?

When analyzing your list of issues, you will likely be surprised by the quantity and consistency of your employee’s ideas and suggestions. Notice that the value of the reported issues grows the closer you come to your front-lines. Also, notice which employees complete their survey thoughtfully and enthusiastically. These employees will likely lend significant support to your stealthy business transformation initiative. Conversely, you will need to carefully manage those who resist or complain.

Step Two: Assess Your Company’s Value Proposition

Your company’s value proposition defines the worthiness of your product offering from your customers’ point-of-view. Traditionally, a value proposition is a one dimensional document. It simply identifies the reasons your customers value your products and services enough to make a purchase. However, to truly define the value of your business, it must be presented in the context of your competitive marketplace.

For example, think about the last time you went to a restaurant. You considered the unique mix of benefits offered by all available competitors: You thought about the types of food they offer, their location, their level of service, cost, atmosphere, consistency, etc. All this information flashed through your mind as you made your decision.

It is the same for your prospective customers. They choose the competitor who they perceive as being their best option at that moment in time. Your challenge is to make sure your customer’s perception leads them to your door.

Comparing your company’s value proposition with its competitors opens your eyes to bigger possibilities. If you operate locally or regionally, you may also find it helpful to include successful companies outside your marketplace who are living your dream. Although you may not directly compete with these companies, they may offer a wealth of creative ideas that will help you make your own big dreams happen. For example, if you own a hotel you can compare your business with your favorite boutique hotel in South Beach or the South of France.

The Value Proposition Worksheet is designed to visually depict all points of product differentiation related to your company and selected competitor. It is like a taste-test that compares your company’s secret sauce with the best companies in your marketplace. Bon Apatite.

Setup your worksheet by identifying your company and competitors across column headings. Dedicate the first column to your company. Then record the names of your competitors, in order of importance, in the columns to the right of your company column. Use rows to indicate the attributes you want to compare.

A copy of the Value Proposition Worksheet is available as a free download along with your free copy of the Breakthrough Book.

Step Three: Prepare Your Company’s “Business Model Map”

A “Business Model Map” is an improvement over the traditional organizational chart.  It defines lines of responsibility instead of lines of authority. It also provides a visual representation of your company’s aligned strategic plan by presenting improvement objectives at the company, department and process levels.

A Business Model Map template is available as a free download along with your free copy of theBreakthrough Book.

Your Business Model Map is a powerful management tool. Use your Business Model Map to:

• Review your company, department and process objectives and to make sure they are complementary and aligned.
• Configure your business for maximum efficiency.
• Identify operational gaps that need to be filled.
• Help your employees understand how all the moving parts of your company work together and how they fit into the bigger picture.
• Assign responsibility to frontline employees.
• Communicate your company’s strategic plan.

Share your Business Model Map with your employees. Use it to engage them in an ongoing dialogue. Use it to gather their insights and to make better strategic decisions.

Step Four: Engage Your Employees to Create a Self-Sustaining Strategic Planning Process

Steps one to three above are a good way to jump start your strategic planning process. However, your ultimate goal is to engage your employees in a self-sustaining strategic planning process.

To bring your strategic planning process to life you need to create an ongoing tradition of open communication between employees, process teams an leaders. You need your employees to feel comfortable reporting their ideas, issues, concerns, suggestions, competitive intelligence and any other information that can help improve your company’s strategic position. Establishing a communication “switchboard” will help.

Ask employees to report their ideas, suggestions, customer complaints and other issues directly to the switchboard. The switchboard operator will then direct the issue to the appropriate process team. The operator will maintain a communication log that you and other managers can use to hold process teams accountable for resolving the reported issues. You can also use the log to credit employees with the ideas they contribute.

In a very small company, the “switchboard” can be a spiral notebook hanging next to your water cooler. In a larger company the “switchboard” can be maintained by a receptionist, executive assistant or quality manager.

The switchboard logbook should have the following column headings:

• Open Date: The date the issue was first reported.
• Close Date: The date the issue was resolved.
• Reported By: The employee who reported the issue.
• Assigned Process Team: The process manager responsible for resolving the issue.
• Issue/Idea Description: A sound byte description of the issue .
• Resolution: A sound byte explanation of the issues resolution.
• Financial Impact: An estimate of the financial benefit of the resolved issue.

A copy of the Communication Switchboard Template is available as a free download along with your free copy of the Breakthrough Book.

Step Five: Use the CEO Scorecard to Create a One Page Strategic Plan

The CEO Scorecard is a one page strategic plan for your business. It is an easy-to-understand report that ties together key strategic information. It provides you with a high-level, 30,000 foot perspective of your business. It is designed to bring your strategic planning process to life by holding leaders and teams accountable for achieving measurable results.

A customizable CEO ScoreCard template is available as a free download along with your free copy of the Breakthrough Book.

The CEO Scorecard consists of the following sections:

• Mission Statement
• Vision Statement
• Values Alignment/Leadership Scorecard
• Strategic Themes
• Process Improvement Recap
• Improvement Projects Recap
• Key Issues/Trends Recap

Use the Scorecard to structure weekly, monthly or quarterly accountability and/or coaching sessions.

Share Your Success Stories

As you begin to put the above Breakthrough Tools to use, please share your Success Story.  We would like to feature your company.

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Posted on April 22, 2012 by breakthrough in continuous improvement, strategic planning

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