The Strategic Planning Process
I’m going to be upfront right from the start. I won’t sugarcoat the reality one bit.
Getting a strategic plan up and running takes serious time and elbow grease. There’s no way around it. However, every minute invested upfront ends up paying back tenfold. I can tell you how worthwhile the effort is, but you really need to see it to believe it.
Of course, to see it in your own organization, you first need to know how to make it happen. So let’s start off on the right foot and establish the steps you need to set the stage for success.
Putting a Team Together
Picture your organization as a winning sports team. If you want to go all the way, you need all-star players in every position, ready to give their considerable best toward achieving a shared victory.
This is not a one-person project. You won’t be able to do it without involving and engaging people who bring specialized strengths to the table – people who can amplify creativity, balance perspectives, and ensure that every voice is heard. Surrounding yourself with a diverse dream team makes all the difference.
Research confirms that I’m not exaggerating the value of true organizational unity. Companies using a formal, team-based strategic planning process simply perform better. We’re talking about a 70% boost in success metrics, according to strategy execution platform Cascade.
So don’t even think about skipping this step! I cannot stress enough how incredibly important your team selection is. You want to be looking for:
- Leaders from every department. Their intimate knowledge of departmental strengths, weaknesses, and inner workings brings invaluable insights. Make sure operations, marketing, product development, finance, human resources (HR), creative, and other key departments all have a spot at the table.
- Frontline staff who engage daily with internal and external customers. Ever heard the saying “boots on the ground”? Frontline perspectives balance out high-level views to yield balanced, holistic strategies. Include cashiers, customer support reps, account managers, and/or others who regularly interact with customers.
- Key external stakeholders. Invite a few select board members, donors, community partners, or advisors to join. They lend an outside vantage point that complements internal insights.
- Third-party experts as needed. If there are skillsets your team lacks, don’t be shy about pulling in trusted outside consultants. They can provide impartial guidance and specialized expertise to strengthen your process. Just be sure internal team members still drive and own the outcomes.
The more diversity of thought and experience you can include, the better. Analytical members guide data-driven rigor. Creative folks supply fresh vision. Tactical doers ground discussions in operational realities. And engaging contributors fosters collaborative dialogue.
When forming your team, consider these characteristics:
- Positivity: enthusiasm and commitment to the process
- Collaboration: the desire to share ideas and listen to others
- Pragmatism: people who consider operational impacts
- Thought diversity: unique but complementary strengths
- Openness: a willingness to consider new perspectives.
Ideally, aim for seven to 12 core members. Too few, and you lose important voices. Too many, and you risk creating an unwieldy process.
Then, once you have your list, connect with each person individually before the official kickoff. Share your vision for an inclusive, productive process. Get their “buy-in” to fully participate. As Kate Gibson, contributor to the Harvard Business School states, “Employee buy-in refers to employees’ commitment to your company’s strategic goals. It’s critical to strategy execution and can profoundly impact organizational performance.”
Once you have that, you’re ready to call the first meeting!
Use this kickoff to establish and clarify everyone’s different roles, the cadence for future meetings, next steps, and guiding principles for working together. And establish a timeline while you’re at it, making sure that everyone understands specific dates to see specific goals accomplished – including the completion date all around.
Commit to a Timeline
Timelines, admittedly, are a topic in and of themselves, starting with the fact that effective strategic planning takes time. I know I already mentioned this exact caution, but it needs to be stressed early on – not just to you but to your team – to keep everyone as on-track and long-term motivated as possible.
I know. I know. As a busy leader, a long timeline makes you want to run for the hills. Or, at the very least, it might spike your anxiety levels. But remember: A rushed process yields shallow strategies with major holes. Thoughtful reflection, analysis, and implementation simply demand ample time.
Fortunately, they yield ample rewards in the process. Therefore, it really is worth your while to embrace the long but rewarding road ahead.
Most companies should shoot for at least a 12-month process to ensure they’re including all key stakeholders and allowing proper time for data collection and analysis. If you’re a startup with fewer employees, it could take far less; we’ve walked some through the process in a mere month. But larger or otherwise more complex organizations could potentially need 18 months.
Set this expectation upfront with leadership and team members, and secure their commitment to the required time and resources. And be detailed about what’s expected, why, and how. A detailed timeline provides necessary pacing and structure. It balances quick momentum with quality dialogue to yield fully baked strategies. It’s like an invaluable compass guiding your organization’s future.
Give this process its proper due by mapping out target dates and milestones upfront… for three extremely compelling reasons:
- It breaks up tasks, making them appear less overwhelming and more achievable.
- It better matches reality, since implementation takes way longer than planning. This next statement might seem obvious in theory, but it’s important to fully accept it early on to ensure the least frustrating journey in practice. An incredible 98% of leaders report execution takes even MORE time than formulating the strategy itself. That’s according to the aforementioned Cascade Team in its 2022 article, “51 Strategy Statistics And 3 Key Lessons To Help You Succeed.”
Give your team enough runway by determining key milestones and timing targets upfront. For example, you might allot three months for foundational analysis, six to deeply explore strategic options and refine priorities, and two to finalize the polished written strategic plan.
- A clear timeline drives accountability. Like athletes diligently following a training regimen in preparation for the big game, it keeps momentum going even on busy days.
Speaking of momentum, after that first meeting, commit to holding regular check-ins to ask about progress. This is a great way to spot potential delays early so you can course correct. Another way to stay on track is to review timelines at the start of each planning meeting. Celebrate successes, address upcoming milestones, and adjust deadlines if warranted.
You want your timeline to be successful, so find some way – whatever it might be – to keep your people aware and committed to making it happen. Organization-wide allegiance is an absolute MUST for successful execution. And not just in the beginning. Everyone at every level needs to be fully aware of what the greater goal is and how long it’s going to take to get there.
Otherwise, your shiny new strategic plan will just gather dust. There’s just too much room for error.
Consider sobering research from Ted Jackson, which showed that 67% of well-formulated strategies still fail due to poor execution. That’s painful! Poor execution too often stems from a lack of proper communication, which results in a lack of commitment the more time passes. Individual contributors – and even managers – lose their enthusiasm because they get frustrated or confused by the process.
So, again, securing honest, informed, enthusiastic buy-in across ALL levels in the beginning pays huge rewards later on. This can include:
Leadership vocally and visually advocating for the process. The boss must walk the walk for others to take it seriously. Demonstrate your commitment through active participation in planning meetings and spoken support. In other words, lead by example!
Involving people across the organization. Ask for SWOT input on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats; or find other ways to gather perspectives on draft priorities. Broad involvement breeds engagement and long-lasting enthusiasm. (More on SWOT later.)
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate! Regularly share progress updates, milestones achieved, and details about how the process connects to departmental goals. Don’t keep anyone involved in the dark!
Link the plan to individual goals and decision-making. Set the expectation that the strategic plan will guide choices and actions made by ALL staff on a daily basis.
While you’re at it, make it clear this plan is not just another file. It’s a living document that tangibly shapes your organization’s path forward. None of this is necessarily easy, but I’ll say it yet again…
It’s worth the work.
The next four chapters will cover exactly what that work should look like, step by step by step by step. Take the time to read each one carefully, and feel free to pause over any part you need to.
It might seem overwhelming to take in. But just like it’s worth the work, it’s also doable. Trust me.
I’ve been there. Done this. And with the right amount of time and effort, you can say the same.