Know the difference between strategic thinking and strategic planning
For many business owners and CEO’s, strategic planning is a stale process. And as with anything stale, nothing good comes from it.
As we enter a new year, freshen your approach to increase the value, or worth, of your business. Think about these 4 steps in your new campaign to elevate the strategy for your business:
- Thinking
- Planning
- Modeling
- Execution
The problem for many with strategic planning is it's really just a process by which they jump to setting updated financial targets, followed by setting supporting actions to deliver on those targets. Their mindset is already constrained by working within a box. The potential danger of this approach is it contains an underlying assumption. And that assumption is you have refreshed your strategic thinking and just as important, conducted strategic thinking about the market around you and where it is going.
We recommend a strategic development campaign that allows for fresh, new thinking about your business and market and doing so in an organized fashion that allows you to build upon new thinking and new findings. You don’t want a helter-skelter strategy development approach that could lead to some good thinking, but ultimately not being able to pull it together in an actionable plan.
1. Thinking – this essential first step allows you to step outside of your 4 walls and ask new questions about your business and the market around you. The best strategic thinking starts with asking great new questions.
2. Planning – this step allows you to capture your company starting point and determine what’s working for you and what’s working against you in building your company value.
3. Modeling – as a result of your Thinking and Planning, this step enables you to begin building models and even budgets to help you project what tangible results your business will realize from your new thinking.
4. Execution – this essential step is building a bridge between your plan and your team to ensure effective execution. The best of strategies don’t go anywhere without the right engagement from your team.
Let the new year be your fresh start on strategy development for your business. Don’t let old paradigms around strategic planning hold you back from creating new business worth through asking new questions and generating fresh new thinking.
