Strategic Business Planning and Management

There is an old saying that “organizations don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan”.  80% of successful organizations have a plan.  80% of failing organizations did not have a plan. Like all statistics, there are other factors involved, but organizations that plan are clearly more likely to get to where they want to go.

The Strategic Management Process is designed to assess the enterprises’ current condition and position in its environment, develop a clear and intentional vision for its future direction, and then implement a practical and effective strategy and plan of action for how to live out that vision for the future success and sustainability of the organization.

The Strategic Management Plan serves as a comprehensive master plan of how the organization will achieve its mission and objectives. It is a “Game Plan” of how the enterprise will position and differentiate itself within the community, based on an assessment of its strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats it perceives in the environment in which it has chosen to operate. It is designed to guide the organization toward its vision while at the same time having the flexibility to navigate obstacles, responding rapidly to the ever-changing environment.

It is critical that the final plan not be carved in stone.  It is a working plan designed to guide the organization toward its vision while at the same time having the flexibility to navigate obstacles.  In the entrepreneurial environment, the organization must learn to function more like a white water raft on the Colorado River than a freighter on the Great Lakes.  It is essential that the organization be able to respond rapidly to the ever-changing environment.