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O P I N I O N
W hile there are many organizations, departments, and teams that deliberately conduct strategic planning, the process, format, frequency, and ultimately the results can vary significantly. Although there is no “right” way to conduct strategic planning, there are proven ways to increase effectiveness. These three core strategic planning areas have unique opportunities for value depending largely on the culture of your organization. The untapped value of strategic planning
Brian Rice
When coupled with implementation, strategic planning is a year-round process. It includes three core areas: preparation, development of goals, and implementation of actions to achieve the goals. Most strategic planning processes start with some degree of preparation. It can be as simple as gathering basic project, industry, client, employee, and financial information from prior years. The preparation precedes a relatively short period of planning and strategic goal development. The duration ranges from a couple hours to several days and includes discussion and evaluation centered around the development of strategic goals. Participants may be many or few but should include leaders from your organization’s core business and support units. The discussion and
evaluation format could follow a structured “SWOT” (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis or a more wide-open “Blue-Sky” format. After the goals are developed, the process continues long-term with the implementation of various actions to accomplish the strategic goals. Regardless of the strategic planning process used by your organization, does it include untapped value? The three core strategic planning areas have unique opportunities for value depending largely on the culture of your organization. While the opportunities may be unique, value can be found in areas that are common to all organizations, such as communication. If communication is
See BRIAN RICE, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER MARCH 8, 2021, ISSUE 1382
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