Planning

Thinking and exploration might be considered the strategic segment while the planning stage is the tactical segment. During the planning stage the realities of funding and resource constraints are brought to bear in selecting the best ideas for the plan. It is here that decision making tools, based on desired criteria, are used to select options for the final plan. For example, criteria can be: 1) cost to set up, 2) time required to complete new service offering, 3) fit with current products and services, and 4) potential for growth and profitability.

In planning, the traditional steps come into play, to include analyzing strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (i.e., SWOT), competition, and available resources. These latter aspects further guide the decision making, providing a different set of constraints. Note that many of the opportunities in the SWOT will have been considered in the think and explore stage. Here are some questions for this stage:
a. Which of the ideas fit one’s mission immediately, short term, and long term?
b. What are the time, talent, and resource requirements for the ideas?
c. Which of the ideas have the highest return-on-investment once implemented?
d. What does one have to do to implement the plan, as it pertains to people, skills, technology, and funds?

Final Useful Thoughts

Consider three interlocking rings of who you are (strengths and weaknesses), what the customer wants (opportunities and threats), and what you stand for (purpose and mission). The central intersection created by these three rings will reveal the unique opportunities that only your circumstance can offer. This distinctive intersection might be called your fit, where no other organization has the same conditions. Don’t lose this potential to differentiate from the competition! In reality, strategic planning is a means to find one’s unique fit. If one considers a strategic plan merely a working guide, and not a formal document for presentation requiring perfected details, then there is a higher probability for successful implementation.

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