{"id":7331,"date":"2014-06-09T11:26:45","date_gmt":"2014-06-09T11:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affinityhrgroup.com\/2019\/05\/creating-your-own-future-the-case-for-strategic-planning\/"},"modified":"2014-06-09T11:26:45","modified_gmt":"2014-06-09T11:26:45","slug":"creating-your-own-future-the-case-for-strategic-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theworkplaceadvisors.com\/creating-your-own-future-the-case-for-strategic-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Your Own Future – the case for strategic planning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Why engage in strategic planning? \u00a0Many successful companies have achieved their success without a strategic plan. \u00a0Others have engaged in strategic planning only to have the resulting plan encased in a binder and placed on a shelf to catch dust. \u00a0(We call these plans \u201cvinyl trophies\u201d or \u201cstrategic bookends.\u201d) \u00a0So why bother?<\/p>\n

Well, the principal reason to do strategic planning is because you believe your company will be in business in the future. \u00a0Planning is simply preparing for the future. \u00a0When you think about it, you really only have three options.<\/p>\n

1) The Wait and See Approach: <\/strong>\u00a0You can wait to see what the future will bring and try to respond to it.<\/p>\n

2) The Guess Approach:<\/strong> \u00a0You can guess what the future will hold and prepare for that.<\/p>\n

3) The Plan Approach:<\/strong> \u00a0You can create your own future by imagining what you want the future to be and plan for it.<\/p>\n

Alas, most companies opt for the wait-and-see approach. \u00a0They do so either because they are unable to imagine the future or because they believe that their organization will react sufficiently when the time comes. \u00a0Unfortunately, organizations that wait are usually on the opposite side of the leading edge \u2013 they exist on the \u201cbleeding edge\u201d and typically fail to position themselves to take advantage of new or evolving opportunities. \u00a0And companies that find themselves unable or slow to respond risk losing loyal customers to competitors in the industry.<\/p>\n

Those that guess or go with their \u201cgut instinct\u201d are not much better off. \u00a0Really, it\u2019s like playing a game of craps. \u00a0The problem with playing craps, and guessing on your future, is that the odds are never really 50-50. \u00a0Everyone knows that in Vegas, the House ALWAYS wins in the long run. \u00a0As for those who rely on their \u201cgut,\u201d intuition is really just an informed guess and shares the same poor odds. \u00a0Sure, guesses may have worked in the past and could work in the future. \u00a0They are just less likely to.<\/p>\n

Those that chose the path of planning have a fundamental belief that there is something they can do to influence the outcome. \u00a0A comprehensive ten year study of successful companies entitled \u201cWhat Really Works\u201d and published in the Harvard Business Review revealed that what differentiates successful companies from their peers is leadership and strategic planning. \u00a0According to the study, without exception, companies that outperformed their industry peers excelled at what the authors call the four primary management practices\u2014strategy, execution, culture, and structure.<\/p>\n

In its truest form, planning is simply a process of envisioning the future and declaring what you want to be. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t require an MBA. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t require high-priced consultants. \u00a0 It simply requires imagination. \u00a0It is an acknowledgment that what got you where you are today may not be what will get you where you need to be in the future. \u00a0And most of us can realize that with warp-speed advances in technology make our assumptions about the future even more unreliable. \u00a0 \u00a0With the number of \u201cdisturbers\u201d out there changing how things are done, who is doing them, how they\u2019re paid for and where they\u2019re heading, strategic planning (and frequent planning) today is even more important than it has been in the past.<\/p>\n

And what about all those vinyl trophies gathering dust on corporate bookshelves across the country? Planning failures are generally not the result of poor planning, but rather of poor implementation. \u00a0To be sure, planning is not for the faint of heart \u2013 it requires bold, brave leadership. \u00a0To implement something new requires doing something new. \u00a0Unfortunately, old habits and pre-existing behaviors usually trump new ones. \u00a0Leaders at all levels of the organization (formal and informal) need to be dedicated to executing and sticking to the plan. \u00a0Small steps are fine. \u00a0But retreating to old habits will ensure a planning failure.<\/p>\n

So, are there any guarantees that planning will bring success? \u00a0Alas, no. \u00a0But armed with a plan, a dose of courage and a dedication to implementation, the odds favor planning over guessing or waiting by a large margin.<\/p>\n

By Claudia St. John, \u00a0SPHR – President, Affinity HR Group<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why engage in strategic planning? \u00a0Many successful companies have achieved their success without a strategic plan. \u00a0Others have engaged in strategic planning only to have the resulting plan encased in a binder and placed on a shelf to catch dust. \u00a0(We call these plans \u201cvinyl trophies\u201d or \u201cstrategic bookends.\u201d) \u00a0So why bother? Well, the principal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nCreating Your Own Future - the case for strategic planning - The Workplace Advisors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theworkplaceadvisors.com\/creating-your-own-future-the-case-for-strategic-planning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating Your Own Future - the case for strategic planning - The Workplace Advisors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why engage in strategic planning? \u00a0Many successful companies have achieved their success without a strategic plan. \u00a0Others have engaged in strategic planning only to have the resulting plan encased in a binder and placed on a shelf to catch dust. \u00a0(We call these plans \u201cvinyl trophies\u201d or \u201cstrategic bookends.\u201d) \u00a0So why bother? 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