Last week, I reviewed the pros and cons of our new monthly schedule for strategic planning. If you’ve been using Simplified Strategic Planning, you might find the new strategic planning schedule useful.
Month 1 – Situation Analysis
In the first meeting, as with our traditional schedules, you’ll review your market segmentation, and assign homework relating to markets, competition and environmental forces.
Month 2 – Capabilities
Meeting two is devoted to reviewing the homework from month 1 (there is a lot!) and the close examination of strengths and weaknesses of your company.
Month 3 – Competency and Opportunities
In month 3, we work on the strategic competency of your organization, and use that as a springboard to brainstorm your perceived opportunities. Coming out of that session, opportunity screening worksheets will be assigned as homework.
Month 4 – Assessments
In the fourth meeting, we review the opportunity screening worksheets, threats and the industry scenario. Based on previously completed homework, we will also frame the strategic assessments and discuss their implications.
Month 5 – Winner’s Profile and Strategic Issues
The fifth meeting starts with a review of the industry scenario, which is then used to create a winner’s profile. The rest of the meeting is devoted to your top strategic issues.
Month 6 – Strategic Issues
The strategic issues discussion is concluded in this meeting, along with noting specific modifications to your strategies and possible objective topics.
Month 7 – Strategies
Based upon everything in the previous meeting, the team outlines their vision for the future of the company, including specific market strategies for each segment.
Month 8 – Objectives
We start this meeting by reviewing the mission, then generate objectives. Action plan team leaders are assigned for implementation management, and the action plans are homework for the next meeting.
Month 9 – Action Plans
The team uses this meeting to review and revise the action plans that were prepared as homework for each objective. Budgets and time worksheets are homework for the next meeting.
Month 10 – Budgets and Schedules
In meeting 10, the team reviews resource availability for the coming year’s implementation initiatives. The resources include both time and money.
Month 11 – Action Plan Scheduling
The team schedules all action steps on each action plan, based upon resource availability.
Month 12 – Communications
From this point on in the strategic planning schedule, we review action plan progress at the beginning of each meeting. The team also reviews the strategies and objectives, to create summary documents for communicating your strategic internally. The cycle repeats the next month, starting over with the month 1 strategic planning schedule.
This schedule is comfortable for a team that is new to Simplified Strategic Planning if you can devote one day per month to the meetings. Experienced teams – or those who can do a more challenging pace – can get through this schedule with half-day meetings every month.
If you’d like to use this schedule, those who’ve attended our seminar can request a more detailed schedule by emailing us. If you would like to attend our next online program, click the button below.