A well-crafted, carefully thought-out strategic plan makes your entire company purposefully proactive instead of repeatedly reactive. When you take the time to create a strategic plan that aligns with your core values and long-term vision, you’ll notice a positive ripple effect of alignment and accountability throughout your organization.
Designing the plan is, for most businesses and Leadership Teams, easier said than done. You have to know where you’re headed in order to create a strategic plan that will actually work—otherwise, your employees will just be trying to put together a puzzle without knowing what they’re assembling.
The Jigsaw Puzzle Analogy
Assembling a jigsaw puzzle requires dozens (or hundreds, or even thousands!) of interlocking pieces to be put into the correct spots. It’s nearly impossible to complete the puzzle unless you know the picture you’re supposed to see when all the pieces are put together. But how does this apply to creating a strategic plan?
ForumSherpa Founder and CEO Ellie Byrd created an exercise in which a Leadership Team was divided into two groups:
- Group A is given the picture they’ll see once they’ve assembled the puzzle.
- Group B is only given the puzzle pieces—no picture.
Guess which group always assembles the puzzle more quickly? That’s right: Group A! Every time! Why? Because Group A sees what the picture looks like as they’re working. They understand their goal and they’re able to work together quickly and efficiently to achieve that goal (in this case, assembling the puzzle correctly).
Meanwhile, Group B is sometimes able to finish the puzzle quickly. But it takes them substantially more time and frustration since the team members aren’t really sure what they’re working toward.
Put simply, when you create a strategic plan, you are drawing the puzzle picture. You let your employees know the ultimate goal, so they’re all aligned on what they need to achieve. From there, you can cut the picture into smaller pieces, and your employees can get to work assembling the puzzle.
From Reactive Chaos to Proactive Alignment
Without a strategic plan, your company will likely be a disorganized, reactive group. There’s no clear direction on company goals or department goals, and since there’s no clear path, it’s nearly impossible to proactively address issues or challenges.
An effective strategic plan transforms that chaotic group into a well-oiled, aligned team that stays organized and ahead of its deadlines. Sure, unexpected obstacles will pop up here and there, but a team that thoroughly understands the plan and goals will be able to stay calm and composed when the going gets tough.
Just in case you need another benefit of creating a strategic plan, here it is: when your entire company is aligned, relationships between leaders and employees improve. There’s less stress and frustration about conflicting messaging because managers all understand the assignment. As your staff works toward the company’s common goals, their personal investment in your business will grow.
So take the time to create a strategic plan. And if you need some tips, just read on.
Tips to Create a Strategic Plan with a Clear Path to Success
It’s one thing to say you’re going to create a strategic plan…but it’s another thing to actually do it. If you’re not sure where to even start, don’t worry—there are plenty of tools and resources to help you along the way.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you build your strategic plan:
- Define your company vision, core values, and market strategy.
- Conduct a SWOT-3 analysis to uncover and leverage opportunities. Download our proprietary SWOT-3 Analysis, created by Ellie Byrd.
- Include your Leadership Team as you develop the strategic plan to get their ideas and foster their buy-in to the plan itself.
- Don’t rely too heavily on AI. Although it can be used to create a basic outline, you’ll need to put your own thought and work into your strategic plan to ensure it’s consistent with your core values and long-term vision.
Following these tips will help you build a plan with specific goals and key metrics that create alignment and accountability across your team.
Once the plan is in place, be sure to share it regularly with all of your employees to make sure your entire company understands the message from your Leadership Team all the way down. Hold quarterly meetings, post components of the plan around your office, and innovate other creative ideas to keep your entire company working toward their common goals.
Let ForumSherpa Guide Your Team to Create a Strategic Plan That Drives Results
A lot goes into creating a strategic plan, and companies of all sizes and ages struggle with this incredibly important component of success. We’re here to help you define the picture and break it into manageable puzzle pieces with our Signature Corporate Program that’s specifically designed for Strategic Planning.
Ready to get started? Tell us about your team today, or contact us for more information on our workshops!
Written by Britt Spread