Reading responses about the strategic planning challenges faced by executives downloading our eBooks suggests a variety of strong blog topics.
One challenge mentioned recently is how one organization's previous strategic planning processes did not work. This necessitates looking for new and better approaches.
This is not a unique situation. Many of you are likely finding your way to the Brainzooming website because you are searching for new ways to address strategic planning challenges.
As we developed the Brainzooming methodology inside the corporate world, our strategic planning did not always work as well as we planned (which is ironic). Sometimes the gap was about the planning itself. Other times it might be about the process steps or the leaders sponsoring the strategic planning process. Still other times, it involved challenges implementing the plan after we completed it.
13 Strategic Planning Process Questions When Strategy Planning Isn’t Working
Irrespective of the specific reason, if your strategy planning approach has not worked in previous years, what potential issues should you explore to fix it? And what questions should you ask to identify underlying issues to address?
Could you change ______?
The people involved
- Are there different, more, or fewer participants that would lead to a more beneficial strategic planning process?
Leadership sponsoring strategy planning
- Are there opportunities to create greater engagement?
- Can you create a stronger understanding of how planning benefits the organization?
- Is it possible to communicate to the leaders a better sense of critical success factors for the strategic planning process?
- Can you more thoroughly incorporate leadership expectations into the strategy planning approach you use?
The strategic planning process
- Are there opportunities to streamline it – or to expand it if that is what you need?
- Which strategy planning steps make the most sense to add or subtract?
- Are there specific aspects that do not work while others do work?
- Is there a need to surround strategic planning process participants with more structure to improve success during planning and implementation?
- Would more robust information effectively support exploring opportunities and identifying priorities?
The transition from planning to implementation
- Is there more work needed during planning to pave the way for implementation?
- Is more or less detail needed in the plan?
- How do the project management resources help or not to move things into action?
Who knows where your answer to improved strategy planning lies among those questions?
The important point is to explore the questions and realize there’s an answer out there.
If you would like to talk about what that answer might be for you, contact us, and let’s discuss how an approach to strategy planning that’s built around your organization would look! - Mike Brown
