Strategic planning is an annual occasion, proper?
It should be, as a result of in response to a latest Harvard Business Review article, virtually 9 out of 10 executives mentioned their firms developed annual strategic plans. Moreover, they developed these plans with out consideration for the tempo of change of their enterprise setting.
But the true query is whether or not strategic planning ought to be an annual occasion. And in right this moment’s hyper-fast markets, the reply is a powerful NO!
As market pressures drive firms to turn out to be extra versatile, responsive, and capable of change on a second’s discover, the flexibility to execute on a method is quickly changing into extra necessary than the technique itself. In reality, enterprise branding knowledgeable Denise Lee Yohn goes as far as to say that in right this moment’s setting, execution is technique.
According to Yohn, the quantity of disruption in right this moment’s markets (and the pace at which it occurs) requires a really completely different planning method. Instead of setting a particular technique and following by means of in any respect prices, firms ought to concentrate on “strategically adapting to and excelling at whatever path they find themselves on.”

In order to succeed with this method, Yohn believes firms should focus extra on having the best individuals and fewer on the best plan, substitute strategic planning with strategic decision-making, and nourish a tradition of self-discipline, motion, and outcomes.
She additionally recommends 4 primary methods for right this moment’s planning setting:
• Keep it easy (to keep away from getting slowed down with too many alternate options) • Make your technique about selections moderately than points • Design your technique round your trade’s predictability and your capability to affect it • Focus on what it is advisable to do subsequent
Out With the Old
These ideas on strategic planning align intently with the ideas I exploit to create strategic agility with purchasers – the flexibility to maneuver quick with focus and adaptability. Embracing these ideas requires shedding various previous concepts in regards to the conventional planning course of.
The greatest downside with strategic plans, even fantastically crafted ones, is that they by no means unfold precisely as written. Too many inner and exterior elements are concerned for any firm to implement their plan with out some extent of change alongside the way in which.
But as a substitute of constructing changes in response to altering circumstances, many leaders insist on sticking to the plan as written. They both see the adjustments as momentary blips to be ridden out. Or, they get too locked into the specifics of the plan and fail to reply appropriately to adjustments in markets, prospects, and international situations.
Additionally, many planners nonetheless look too far into the long run to have any sensible hope of conducting their plan. “The way we’ve always done it” includes wanting three to 5 years out, setting a long-term plan, and sticking to it. In right this moment’s markets, nevertheless, projecting too far forward can doom your plan to failure.
Today’s plans ought to have a a lot shorter time horizon. They additionally have to be extra fluid and versatile. You nonetheless set a goal vacation spot, however one that does not look almost as far into the long run. And you continue to set intermediate targets and motion steps that can assist you attain your vacation spot. But as a substitute of placing the plan up on the shelf to collect mud, the main target shifts to monitoring and measuring the plan frequently and making changes in response to altering market situations.
The time-honored observe of taking a look at final 12 months’s numbers and setting this 12 months’s aim three to 5 p.c greater? Forget about it! Instead of specializing in what occurred previously, set this 12 months’s goal primarily based on the alternatives accessible out there. Define what reaching excellence in a brand new and always evolving sport appears to be like like, and set your targets accordingly.
In With The New
Developing strategic agility begins with altering lots of your thought bubbles (beliefs, assumptions, and ‘guidelines’) in regards to the strategic planning course of. Then settle for the concept that most of the remaining concepts, beliefs, and assumptions on which you base the plan might properly turn out to be out of date earlier than you are midway by means of.
To adapt your plan to shifting market realities, mechanically assume that your market is continually altering (it’s!), and monitor it frequently. Then develop a proper course of for managing your technique. Nothing bureaucratic – simply sufficient construction in order that issues get executed if you get stretched too skinny with different pressing duties.
Select a time, ideally as soon as a month however at least as soon as 1 / 4, to evaluation your technique. Identify any adjustments in your setting, and evaluation how your technique is unfolding in comparison with the way you thought it could. Be certain to incorporate exterior and inner forces (just like the change required of staff, managers, and leaders for brand new initiatives), and make any crucial changes to your plans.
When monitoring your setting, pay shut consideration to uncertainties. For instance, what assumptions are you making about your markets and prospects, and are they nonetheless legitimate? What are your prospects and suppliers unsure about? What are their prospects and suppliers unsure about?
When reviewing your technique implementation, ask: What has modified internally or externally which may alter or undermine our technique? Is our technique working as anticipated? Are we executing successfully? If not, what do we have to refine or change with a purpose to get again on observe?
Finally, concentrate on what must shift and how one can adapt to get to the place you wish to go. Once you establish the required course corrections, take motion instantly. It’s exhausting making selections with out having any certainty about what the long run holds. But the world strikes so quick that hesitation might be deadly. And when you fall behind, it may be very troublesome to catch up.
Today’s market leaders are quick, agile, and capable of change course with a minimal of disruption. Make the event of strategic agility (execution) a precedence on your group, and watch your rivals battle to meet up with you!
Call to motion: Gather your workforce and discover what has modified because you created the plan and what it is advisable to do about it.
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