You know you need to start a strategic planning process for next year.

Starting, however, has been delayed amid everything else you have had going on recently. If this sounds like your situation, what can you do right away to jump start strategic planning?

8-ball

5 Things to do if You Haven't Started Strategic Planning Yet

Here are five steps you can take right away to catch up some time and make it seem as if you are completely on top of next year’s strategic planning process.

1. Inventory Historical Info

Inventory what you know about your customers, markets, and competitors based on whether you know / think it's still relevant or not. Then see how much of the out-of-date information you can start updating.

2. Broaden Your Sources of Planning Input

Figure out a way to quickly reach out as broadly as you can inside and outside your organization to understand new perspectives on customers, markets, and trends. If you're unsure about doing this, email us at info@brainzooming.com or call 816-509-5320; we can help make it happen efficiently and effectively.

3. Get a Team Together

Assemble a team of smart, diverse people to help get your strategic planning process going. Even if it's only one or two people, their strong participation will be a HUGE help.

4. Update the Strategic Foundation

Gather all the documents and strategic pronouncements your organization has already created addressing your organization's direction the last 1-2 years. Organize these based on whether they align or don't align to what has actually been happening the last 1-2 years.

5. Schedule Time Now

Book time with you organization's leadership NOW for when you'll need individual input, when you'll want them to meet as a group for strategic planning, and when you'll want them to review the preliminary planning work.

It’s Just Five Things

See, tackling just these five tasks this week will give your strategic planning process an incredible boost toward next year.

Want more tips to simplify strategic planning? Subscribe to the Brainzooming blog as we share more tips during the weeks ahead! - Mike Brown

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