Build the plan around three questions: where you are now, where you want to be in three to five years, and which few choices will get you there. Then turn it into an annual plan with initiatives, owners, a budget and indicators, and review it every quarter.
Step by step
- 1
Analyze where you stand
Sales, profitability and customer figures for the last two or three years, a SWOT analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and your position against competitors.
- 2
Set the destination
A clear vision and a few goals with figures for the end of the period, such as sales volume, profitability and the markets you want to enter.
- 3
Choose the strategic priorities
Three to five priorities that define where and how you will compete, and write down what you will not do as well, because strategy is about choosing.
- 4
Turn it into an annual plan
For each priority, initiatives with an owner, a date and a budget, and indicators to track progress.
- 5
Involve the leadership team
The people who will carry out the plan take part in shaping it, so they understand the reasons and commit to the results.
- 6
Review every quarter
A review meeting that compares progress with the plan and adjusts initiatives when the market changes, without changing the destination every month.
An ambitious plan with no budget, no owners and no regular review ends up as a file in a drawer. A simpler plan that is followed up every quarter is far more useful.
- steps to prepare a strategic plan
- strategic plan example for a small business