Episode 2 : STRATEGIC PLANNING
Business planning consists of the planning activities that guide the success and direction of your organization.
Strategic planning is a specific type of business planning that can help you better dial into what you need to do in the next year, and understand how your performance is measuring up against your planning to guide you towards your goals and targets both big and small.
Read on to discover the purpose for strategic planning, the four components to strategic planning, and exactly how to create a one-page strategic plan for your business.
Part 1 : The Horizon of Your Strategic Plan
STRATEGIC PLANNING: The Horizon of Your Strategic Plan
Horizon is the first key component of your strategic plan. What is the horizon? It’s the timeline you’re looking out. Most strategic plans go out multiple years, including all the way up to ten years. I personally find that 10 years is too far out, with too many variables outside of our control, so I usually do a 3-5 year horizon with my clients.
It’s much more manageable and impactful because things are closer in. If you do want to do a 10-year plan, you’ll want to consider only really big targets (like acquiring a business or being acquired) out that far.
I ask my clients: What are you looking at doing in the next 3 years?
Perhaps you’re growing so you imagine needing more people, or a new building. What are those horizon issues that you might come across? How might the economic and political environment shift along that timeline?
Maybe you can see a recession or a big election coming. What other kinds of environmental impacts are going to happen in that 3-5 year horizon that could impact your business? All of those things need to be addressed in the horizon section.
Part 2 : Your Strategic Plan’s Core Values
STRATEGIC PLANNING: Your Strategic Plan’s Core Values
What are your organization’s core values? What’s driving your organization’s performance and direction? What areas are in your wheelhouse, telling you what you should and shouldn’t be doing? How does your organization show up every day for your customers and clients?
These are core values questions. In a nutshell, core values are your cause, your niche, your passion, your mission.
What are those things that define Business Lifecycle STRATEGIC PLANNING for you?
These are critical to put in your strategic plan because you need them as an anchor to ground you in moving forward. When you have your core values front and center, it’s easier to understand what the best channels, areas, and scenarios are to move your forward strategically as a business.
Your core values and your “why” are very closely intertwined because what you should and shouldn’t do is aligned with your why. Those are your alignment and grounding areas that will guide you in the right direction for your business.
Part 3 : Targets in Your Strategic Plan
STRATEGIC PLANNING: Targets in Your Strategic Plan
Those targets could be things like:
- Revenue numbers
- Profit targets
- Number of clients
- Market share
Part 4 : Your Strategic Plan’s Goals
STRATEGIC PLANNING: Your Strategic Plan’s Goals
Goals quantified are really a budget. What does your budget look like and what kind of activities do you need to be doing to move the needle towards your targets? The one-year category is very close in, so get specific. These should be very specific items to act on and prioritize.
Key thrusts and capabilities capture what’s going to get you in the 3-5 year priorities range. What capabilities and qualities move you closer to your goals and targets?
In a nutshell, goals and key thrusts and capabilities answer the question: what do we need to achieve, how are we going to achieve it, and by when? Delivering on those key initiatives will allow you to achieve your goals.
TurboCharge Your Business
is a show for business owners who are tired of just working IN the nuts and bolts of their businesses and ready to work ON the business itself from a big-picture, growth-oriented, strategic perspective.