You are busy, right? You turn up to work with an endless to-do list, and you don’t have much free time. Why would you invest more time creating a strategic plan, when things are changing so rapidly?
I'll let you in on a secret.
Creating a strategic plan is not about doing more, it's about doing less.
Strategic planning focuses you on how to spend your time so that you are more effective in reaching your goals and getting to where you want to go. Your plan will help you make the most of your resources, so you enjoy work more.
Why is it important?
1. To set direction and align priorities.
It defines your business’s view of success and prioritises the activities that will make this happen. If you don’t know where you are going, how are you going to get there?
Without a clearly defined strategy, you could find that your key priorities (the ones that will drive the highest success) are being given secondary treatment. Priorities make it easier to say no to distractions. For example, I do not work with start-up businesses. My strength is in scaling existing businesses once they have a proven model. For start-ups, there are other coaches who can help.
2. Agile decision making.
Disruption isn't new. You are always going to have disruption. You can take a wait-and-see approach or be guided by your planned direction. For every reason there is to do something, there are at least five reasons not to do it. And, if your decision making is guided by a strategic fit, your ‘one’ reason to make it happen, outweighs the five reasons not to.
3. Team buy-in.
Developing and implementing a strategy makes it easier to convey the company purpose to employees and inspires them to do the great work they say they want to do. This will increase their focus on doing their work, without being side-tracked.
4. Communicate your message.
Many successful business owners walk around with their strategy locked in their heads. When your team, suppliers, and customers know where you’re going, you allow greater opportunities for people to help you maximise your success in getting there.
5. Identify challenges.
You want to swim with the flow, not against it. You’ll create an opportunity to talk about key issues facing the business (competition, changing trends, etc) without being reactive. Being spontaneous throws off your plans and takes your eye off your goals.
Next steps
Without having a clear destination, none of the operational things you do are going to make a difference. A strategic plan will give you the clarity to where you want to go, and how to get you there fast.
Strategic planning is not an option, but a priority. If you are committed to seeing your organization move forward, now is the best time to create your plan.