I am facilitating a strategic planning retreat today for an organization going through major change. As I prepared the agenda and activities, I was reminded how important this activity is to the success of realizing our vision and our intentions as a leader.
I know that the very thought of strategic planning makes some people bristle as they feel like they do not want the "constraints" of a strategic plan as they are “free spirits” or see the word “strategy” as cold, rigid, and not creative.
Not true! Completing a strategic planning process and designing your way to get there involves a lot of creativity and right-brain activity. Then the left-brain functions of determining the plans, steps, and strategies are added in to support the vision. Strategic planning is visioning, intending, and finding ways to support the vision.
Like so many other leadership functions, strategic planning has become much too complicated in some circles. You know me, I like to keep it simple, and my approach to strategic planning is also streamlined. Follow these simple steps and you will soar right through your strategic plan:
- Assess where you are right now. Review your mission and values statement to confirm they are congruent with each other. Complete a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats).
- Get clear on your vision, where you want to go. Look at your vision statement and confirm the congruency with your vision, mission, and values. Set your long-term goals and your short-term goals all in support of your vision.
- Create your action plan to get you to your goals. See my blog post on Action Planning for steps to creating an action plan.
That’s it, go forth, and plan!
What are some techniques you’ve used for your strategic planning?
With love,
Maria
Content copyright 2012. Dr. Maria J. Church. All rights reserved.