The objective of a strategic planning process is to identify opportunities where the company’s current or potential capabilities can be successfully matched against the needs of its various stakeholders, and where this success can be sustained. Success is defined by the objective of each company and is measured by the value that it actually delivers to these stakeholders, relative of course, to that provided by other investment alternatives.
The importance of strategic planning is best summed up by Bill Gates, the Founder of Microsoft, when he said:-
“My success in business has largely been the result of my ability to focus on long-term goals
and ignore short-term distractions. Taking a long-term view does not require
brilliance but it does require dedication.”
Many people think strategic planning – that is, periodic review of the business model or strategies, is something meant only for big businesses, but is strategic planning really just for large companies? Is it not equally applicable to small businesses? If you are a small or medium sized business, you need to think again as statistics gathered in the U.S.A. show that more than eighty percent of businesses fail within the first five years. Of those that survive the first five years, more than eighty percent fail over the next five years. This clearly illustrates that less than four out of one hundred businesses will survive longer than ten years. In fact, even for the strongest companies listed in 1957 on the Fortune 500 List, only seventy-four companies remained on the list in 1997. Recent studies have also shown that the life span of modern companies is now only about eleven years.
When strategic planning is not carried out with proper under-standing of the process, the end result is usually not up to expectations and is often a waste of everybody’s time. However, if things are done with proper understanding of the process and with proper regular reviews, the end result will definitely be different. Thus, it is important to have an experienced person such as, a Business Coach/Consultant to facilitate and lead the strategic planning process.
For further information and discussion on your Strategic Planning Day, please complete the enquiry form and we will contact you as soon as possible.