Strategic Planning in Five Minutes or Less

We all know we need to make good plans in order to succeed. But the concept of strategic planning can sound intimidating and overwhelming to many small business owners. We get so busy doing the day-to-day work of ours businesses, it can be hard to find the time to step back and plan for the future. But taking the time to put together a simple strategic plan can save you thousands of hours, resources and funds in the end.

So, what are the most effective ways to go about putting together a strategic plan that works? For help with this, we asked the advice of Donna Price. Donna is the President and Founder of Compass Rose Consulting. She’s a strategic planning expert with 18+ years of management and leadership experience, and she’s provided up with the following tips.

Part One - Start with your vision.
Before you can build an abundant practice or business you must have a clear and compelling vision. The vision is the seed that you grow.

Then, write down what you envision for the future. What does the future of your business look like? The vision is the destination, where you are going. The strategies are the map that gets you to the vision. Company values are the guide or the “compass” in our map metaphor for making decisions along the way. Values keep you oriented and in alignment. When values are out of alignment the company is off track; not moving in the direction of the vision.

Part Two - Limit your strategic goals to the top 6-10.
By having fewer goals the plan is able to stay alive and in front of you and the team.

By alive, it means that the plan is always where you can see it, use it and keep working on it. It means that the team is focused on the strategic goals at all times, talking about them, brainstorming on them, implementing them and reporting to each other their successes and challenges.

To set strategies for your business first look at the vision, the different aspects of the vision. Brainstorm all of the goals, all of the strategies for each aspect of the vision. With brainstorming it is important to get all of the ideas out and write them down without judging them or editing them. Often the best idea comes from an idea that at first look seemed too wild or crazy. Ideas jump off of other ideas.

Part Three - Prioritize your goals.
Often your list of goals can be grouped into one strategic goal. This can help in the prioritization process. The goal is to narrow the list down to the top 6-10 strategies. What are the goals or strategies that will give your business the future you envision, that will create a breakthrough that will produce the results that you want? Those are the goals that you should be selecting as top priorities, not the things on your to-do list.

And the fourth and final part - Implementation is the key.
Creating a powerful strategic plan is just the beginning. Many organizations have strategic plans that are well thought out and crafted. Where they fall short is in the implementation of that plan.

Implementation is the result of focused and continuous action. Regular meetings about the plan keep things moving in the right direction. Check-in meetings hold people accountable. When teams don’t meet and don’t keep their eye on the plan, the day to day interferes and the status quo remains. In order to make changes in the results that you achieve there has to be intention and commitment on the part of the team. The check-in meeting gives the team the opportunity to review what is happening, what is interfering with the results they want and need and make the changes necessary to change the outcomes. Through the intention of the leadership, the plan and the team, the culture of the workplace can shift from one of non-performance to one of performance focused.

When you build a compelling vision, a powerful strategic plan and implement it properly, your results will be phenomenal.