COURSE AND DIRECTION

March Questions & Answers

This column is intended to answer common questions related to strategic planning and strategy in general. In each issue we will answer questions posed by seminar attendees, our clients and our readers. Please send your questions to Suzanne Simmonds, E-mail: simmonds@cssp.com ~ Mail: CSSP, Inc. P.O. Box 851 Southport, CT 06940-0851 ~ Fax: 203-255-9191.

Should the information in our Strategic Plan be updated throughout the year?

While the Simplified Strategic Planning process gives no specific recommendation that worksheets be updated during the year, you should at a minimum, review all of your assumptions on a quarterly basis as prescribed in the monitoring process. In addition it is prudent that you monitor your general business situation for significant change on an ongoing basis. Doing so is the only way to give your plan the flexibility it needs.

This can be an informal activity such as making notes on worksheets in the planning book (or on a shared network drive) as useful information becomes available. This approach has the added benefit of providing a starting point for the formal updating of worksheets, which is done on an annual basis. If a major new event takes place or a significant new piece of information comes to light at any point during the year, an assessment of the implications should be done. Any applicable worksheets should be revised (or new ones completed) and discussed with the team.

If we were to spend only one day on Strategic Planning, what should we do?

The Simplified Strategic Planning process is designed to create a Strategic Plan that is built on solid information and shared assumptions. Its success is also dependent on buy- in from the key managers who will implement the plan. All of this takes time. If it is "forced" through a superficial treatment of business situation the result is likely to be a poor plan, poor implementation or both. While our recommended initial seven-day process (four days in subsequent cycles) can certainly be modified, some tradeoff in the long-term success of the plan is inevitable. It would be impossible to achieve the necessary degree of shared learning and commitment for strategy formulation and implementation in one day and we do not recommend that approach. If you are willing to accept this significant trade-off then we would recommend you spend the one-day resolving the company’s key strategic issues. These should be assembled and prioritized ahead of time. A limited number of strategic objectives could also be identified as a result of your discussion of the key issues.

What is the benefit of having a Strategic Focus?

One of the fundamental problems that many companies face is a lack of focus. They try to deploy their limited resources across too wide a front and fail to achieve significant advantage in any area. Strategic focus is the most basic focus a business can have. It is a description of what you intend to sell and who your target customers will be. It gets at the very heart of deciding what you will or will not do in your business. While a new entrepreneurial businesses often gets its start by throwing a bunch of stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks, an ongoing business cannot rely on that approach. Competencies must be developed and resources must be deployed to sustain long-term competitive advantage. This is unlikely to happen unless there are some limitations or boundaries placed on the scope o the company’s activities. A clear strategic focus is the appropriate way to define those boundaries.

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