Definition
Strategic
planning is the process of development of a plan for accomplishing a
goal
or set of goals over a period of several years. It is used to help an
organization focus its resources and energy, to ensure that members of
the organization are working toward the same goals, and to assess and
adjust
the organization's direction in response to a changing environment.
The strategic planning process defines the best way to respond to the
circumstances of the organization's environment, whether or not its
circumstances are known in advance; being clear about the
organization's objectives, being aware of the organization's resources,
and incorporating both into being consciously responsive to a dynamic
environment. It requires intentionally setting goals and developing an
approach to achieving those goals.
Strategic planning assumes that an organization must be responsive
to a dynamic, changing environment, and stresses the importance
of making decisions that will ensure the organization's ability
to successfully respond to changes in the environment. It consists of
the formulation of the organization's future mission in
light of changing external factors such as regulation, competition,
technology,
and customers, the development of a competitive strategy to achieve the
mission,
and the creation of an organizational structure which will
deploy resources to successfully carry out its competitive
strategy.
The Issues
Why
do traditional plans fail?
First: "hipshot" thinking. Too many strategic planning sessions are
accomplished
over a stint in a nice resort. The time is often compressed to a few
days
for such critical planning. Executives don't have much of a chance to
think
through their assignments. As a consequence, long range plans emerge
from
"hipshot" gestures made by beer-soaked brains.
Second: quite often only a few key executives are involved in the
planning
sessions. Functional departments may not be represented in a plan that
consequently
affects them. This result in having too narrow a functional
representation,
and few owners of the plan. The odds of accomplishing the plan is
drastically
reduced.
Third: when a plan is devised, it may not be authored by people below
the
first tier of management. The old paradigm is that the top executives
are
the best qualified to accomplish the planning. Since the participation
is
limited, those responsible for daily operations in the firm have no
authorship
in the future of the company: no "buy-in." Again, the chance of a
successful
implementation is reduced dramatically.
Fourth: when the strategic plan is finished, it often dies at the end
of
the sessions because it is not integrated with the annual business plan
or
the annual budget. In this instance, life goes on in the organization
the
same way it did before the strategic planning session. Nothing has
changed
and the plan collects dust. It is not a "living document" in any sense
of
the meaning.
Fifth: too few people are measured by the success or failure of the
plan.
If too few feet are held to the fire for the plan's outcome, it has
little
chance of success. We believe that you get what you measure. Measure
the
results of the plan, and you will get results.
Sixth: hardly anyone gets paid as a result of the success or failure of
the strategic plan. Except for a few key executives who have objectives
to
meet to make their bonuses, pay systems generally tend to be mutually
exclusive
from the success of a strategic plan. Workers and salaried people, in
addition
to middle managers, are paid as a result of some obscure compensation
system.
Seventh: individual and team efforts are seldom ever tied to the
outcome
of the company's strategy. Workers respond to how they are measured.
They
know that keeping the machines running increases utilization, that's
what
they have been taught that the company wants, and so they build
inventory,
even when its not needed.
Eighth: most workers, whether they be executives, salaried, or labor,
don't
know how to behave as a team member. Our society teaches us to be
heroes,
to worship heroes, and that we are rewarded for individualistic
efforts.
It starts in school with academic and sport competition. The hero is
the
pitcher with the most games won, or the quarterback with the most yards
gained.
We foster entrepreneurial efforts in business. Most team efforts in the
company
boardroom are feigned.
Pragmatic Applications
The overall quality of the long range plan increases substantially when executives have an opportunity to think through the ramifications of their actions. The best situation is when a plan is devised during one or two day sessions, twice a month, over a period of several months. This allows assignments to be given out in between sessions, and provides the executives a chance to spend more concentrated time on the assignment at home, or in the evenings when they are more relaxed. The quality of each individual's contribution to the plan vastly improves. Then, the results of the assignments are brought in to the sessions and synthesized with the efforts of others to achieve a much higher quality plan.
Our Approach: Tools from a Toolchest
Rockford Consulting Group applies concepts and technologies as the situation warrants, that will result in the ultimate benefit to our clients. We treat strategies, technologies, and methodologies as tools in a toolchest, and use them when they offer practical solutions and achievable results. We believe that each client situation is unique, with its own unique set of solutions. (Please see our strategic planning consulting services Strategic Planning Consulting Services )
Why Us?
Rockford Consulting Group can provide long-term assistance to many companies in a variety of industries. The firm has a cadre of the best supply chain consultants in the world today, providing high quality professionalism through the use of experience and innovation.
We subscribe to the Institute of Management Consultants Code of Professional Conduct. All consultants engaged on projects adhere to its principles. Whenever possible we will use consultants certified in their particular specialty area. Certification assures that consultants have substantial prior experience in their specialty, and their competencies have been tested by the IMC, and verified by a number of clients. This assures our clients that we are assigning the highest qualified consultants in the profession.
We provide technical expertise, team facilitation, leadership, and direction in deciding how you will meet the challenge. We refer you to our Qualification Statement for further details on our background, areas of specialization, concepts and technologies applied, staffing, operating policy, approach, companies and industries served, case studies and references. Equally as important, we train our clients to sustain new methods of manufacturing and the consequential benefits over time. Your company will benefit directly from this training.
We have achieved an efficiency in our approach to assignments that allows us to provide high quality technical and managerial advice in a much shorter amount of time than could be accomplished years ago. We are able to do this because of the extensive consulting experience that each of our specialists has.
©1999 Rockford Consulting Group, Ltd.