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Exponential Careers - Career Development & Career Coaching
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"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going."

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Source Unknown
 

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we lead."

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Flora Whittemore
 

"Success is not a doorway, it's a staircase."

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Dottie Walters
 

"Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well."

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Flora Whittemore
 

"The road to success is lined with many tempting parking spaces."

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Source Unknown
 

"If you get up early, work late, and pay your taxes, you will get ahead if you strike oil."

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J. Paul Getty
 

"You don't drown by falling in the water' you drown by staying there."

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Edwin Lewis Cole
 

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we lead ."

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Flora Whittemore
 

"I have long been of the opinion that, if work were such a splendid thing, the rich would have kept more of it for themselves."

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Bruce Grocott
British Politician
 
 
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Corporate Strategic Planning, Business Strategic Planning, Strategic Planning For My Organization

STRATEGIC PLANNING

An organization without a strategic plan is like a ship without a rudder - you may stay afloat, but it's hard to get anywhere fast.

 

Why is a Strategic Plan important?

A strategic plan provides the following benefits regardless of whether your organization is small or large:

  • Direction - Having your team moving forward toward the same goals improves results. A strategic plan provides the map for success.
  • Focus - It is easy to be distracted by new, attractive opportunities. It is likewise easy to become caught up in day-to-day activities, which prevents you from moving forward. A well-prepared strategic plan documents and clarifies your intended direction. Sure, you may choose to veer from the plan, but it becomes and intentional, considered move, rather than a reaction to a situation or opportunity.
  • Communication - Leaders of companies and organizations often believe "We know what our plan is." However, when it comes down to writing down a plan it is common to find not only is everyone not on the same page, but there may be certain issues that have never really been considered at all. The process of creating a strategic plan serves to pull the team together and provides a common direction.
  • Long-Term Goals - A strategic plan provides a set of common long-term goals. Many companies prepare annual plans (or at least budgets), but that's not enough. A series of one-year plans does not equal a long-term plan. why? Because long-term goals often require multi-year commitments to their achievement. The importance of these investments and the commitment to their execution are often lost in annual plans that aren't based upon long-term strategic plans.
  • Knowledge - The strategic planning process may involve the collection and analysis of information about your own company, competitors, suppliers and customers. The old saying "Knowledge is power" holds true through all times. Too often, we hold beliefs that may prove that are less true than we believed -- research and analysis exposes such situations and can lead to significant refocusing and redirection.
  • Prioritization - Most companies have more opportunities than they can practically address at any one time. How do we know which opportunities to pursue and which to let go? This is another area where a strategic plan provides clarity. Clearly identifying and stating what is most important to your success makes many later decisions easier and faster.
  • Measurable Targets - Real, tangible results are easier and more reliably achieved with a timetable and measurable targets in place. Success is easier with quantifiable benchmarks.

Success is rarely achieved without a plan -- written or otherwise. Strategic Planning gets your entire team on the same page with the same priorities. Putting your plan down in writing greatly improves the likelihood of adherance and implementation.

A strategic plan should take a 3 to 5 year view and may possibly look even longer. Once the strategic planning process is complete, a tactical annual plan and budget can be developed.

Often, internal staff are too busy to provide the focus necessary in the development of a strategic plan. Another significant problem is that internal people are often too close to the situation and have a difficult time providing an objective foundation for creating the plan. These are reasons that it can be highly beneficial to hire an outside consultant to direct the planning process and possibly to write the strategic plan for you. Hiring a strategic planning consultant allow you to leverage the consultant's experience, while maximizing the productivity of your employees.

Bill McGinnis has the experience to lead your strategic planning process. Contact him today regarding your needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milwaukee / Madison / Green Bay / Racine / Kenosha / Oshkosh / Fond du Lac / LaCrosse / WI / Wisconsin / Illinois / Michigan / Minnesota / Iowa / Indiana / Midwest

 






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