Three strategic planning myths we’re busting

A few weeks ago, we told you about the parts of a strategic plan.  This week, we’re sharing three strategic planning myths—and we’re busting them. 

Strategic planning.  It’s defining a direction and making decisions, but it’s not these three myths. 

Strategic plan?  Sure, that’s with my consultant. 

Your strategic plan is an incredibly important part of your business.  It should clearly set your vision, key differentiators, short-term and long-term goals and get your team aligned. 

What happens when a consulting company creates your plan?  It’s their plan, not yours.  Many of the core elements that make your business exceptional, like your culture, may be missed.  Getting buy-in from your team could be a challenge. 

The best way to create your plan is through a facilitated process. 

Why?  Your facilitator will guide you through the key elements and coach you in the creation of your plan.  Using a facilitator allows the entire team to be fully engaged in the planning process—no need to for distractions when you’re working on a piece as integral as this. 

Most importantly, when it’s your teams’ plan, they’re already engaged in the process and bought in! 

We’re set!  We’ve got a 3-year plan. 

Not quite.  You’ve created your 3-year plan.  It’s complete, highly detailed and ready to roll.  Now to execute the plan…

Does your market ever change?  Are your competitors static?  Do you have new ideas? 

Plans should never be fixed.  The planning process needs to be agile and iterative, reflecting your evolution, learnings and the changes in your market. 

Best practice is to review and update your plan at least quarterly. 

In these quarterly sessions, you should:

Celebrate your achievements

Course correct where necessary

Create your actionable plan for the next quarter

Breaking your plan into quarterly segments means you make progress faster, keep the team highly engaged and are constantly refining the plan based on what’s working (or not working). 

Strategic planning?  That’s for big businesses. 

Let’s bust this myth, once and for all. ( Mike throws up his hands in frustration). 

Every business owner that wants to reach their goals must be regularly engaging in strategic planning.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a small, medium or big business.  This includes you, solopreneurs. 

Take the time to answer the six key strategic questions every business needs to know:

Who are you? 

Why do you exist? 

What are your goals? 

What do you sell? 

Who do you sell it to? 

What makes you different? ( Why should they buy from you?) 

Once you know the answers, we can develop a clear strategy and execution plan.