For as long as there have been consultants,
there have been "impressive" acronyms and terminology...much
of it intended to create a mystique surrounding a particular
process or service offering. The terms "strategic
planning" is no different... To some it may
sound impressive, but anyone that takes a moment to consider
the term will recognize that almost all planning is
"strategic".
We would be remiss, however to not list
this as at least an element of our service portfolio, if for
no other reason than to stay in line with the other firms
offering similar services. We believe that all
planning MUST be strategic.
It could be asked, what is the difference,
at least in business terms, between planning and "strategic
planning". Simple, companies plan events, run ads, add
products or services, etc. every day. Often times,
however they are "ad-hoc" or "opportunistic", that is they
are reactions to some outside force, for example a customer
request or a call from a sales rep, etc. That does not
mean, however that these plans, however well thought out,
are part of any strategy to accomplish longer-term goals for
the company.
For a a company to plan strategically,
they must first have a goal, or a vision of where they want
the company to go. At the most basic level, each
initiative that a company puts forth should align with that
vision. Ideally, initiatives will each contribute to a
greater "whole", and be related proportionally and
strategically to the other initiatives that make up the
entire plan. All that said, we typically advise
companies to make sure that, at the very least, they are
considering the following when initiating any "plans" for
their company?
-
Who is our customer, and
how will this initiative benefit them?
-
Why are we undertaking
this particular initiative?
-
Why are we taking
this action now?
-
How will this
initiative change our customers' view of us?
-
What happens if we
DON'T do this?
-
What happens if we
DO do this?
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