We talk a lot about strategic planning here at TBG, because we’ve seen the remarkable results it can bring for businesses and their employees.
If you feel like you’re missing a piece of the puzzle, can’t quite get to where you need to be when looking towards your ultimate goals, or feel your company lacks structure and discipline, strategic planning could be just what you’ve been looking for.
With even the most basic strategic planning model, you can start to introduce the motivational magic of strategic planning within your business. Ready? Let’s get started!
What do strategic planning models do?
A model for strategic planning will bring structure and direction to your business goals. You probably have some ideas about where you want to go and how you want to get there – with a basic strategic planning model, you’ll provide a solid yet flexible framework to maximise your chances of success.
Developing a firm action plan to help you achieve your goals also helps you to pinpoint key areas for attention and direct resources accordingly, which will also ensure you can realign any rogue processes within your business that may be holding you back in a timely manner.
A strategic planning model may be for you if:
- You have a company-wide strategy currently, but it’s ineffective or needs structure and attention
- Strategy is non-existent and you’ve been assigned to implement one
- One area within your business needs improvement and appears to be letting down other more successful aspects of the organisation
Benefits include:
- Enhanced employee productivity and engagement
- Full company-wide alignment with overarching goals
- Clear direction and focus thanks to a flexible roadmap
- Goals that are attainable
- The attention provided to neglected, underperforming or overlooked areas
Basic strategic planning models to implement
There is a huge variety of basic strategic planning models to choose from when considering implementing them within your business – so many in fact that it’s very easy to get overwhelmed if you’re new to this way of working.
Looking through some examples of strategic planning models is always a good way to get inspired and start to get those creative juices flowing when considering how a model for strategic planning could fit into your current business setup.
To help you get started we’ve included some of the most popular corporate strategic planning models used by a wide range of businesses to achieve cohesion and direction.
SWOT analysis
Perhaps one of the most well-known strategic planning models, SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis focuses on a ‘foundations up’ approach, identifying and balancing internal factors (Strengths and Weaknesses) with external influences (Opportunities and Threats).
VRIO framework
VRIO stands for Value, Rarity, Imitability and Organisation. This strategic planning process relates more to your vision statement – helping you to understand the USPs you bring and your competitive advantage within your market.
OKRs
Our favourite! If you didn’t know already, OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results, referring to a framework of easily digestible and efficiently implemented goals working towards the main objective (there’s plenty more on OKRs here on the blog).
The goal-based strategic planning model
Working backwards from the future to the present, addressing the main goal and establishing a roadmap to achieve that, defining time frames and strategies along the way.
The organic model for strategic planning
A bit of a ‘wild card’ in the strategic planning world; focused on vision and values as opposed to plans and processes (as is the case with most others), this model helps to instil natural, self-organising systems leveraging a company’s existing resources.
Not sure where to start when choosing a model for strategic planning? We’ve got you covered below.
How to choose a model for strategic planning
Every company is unique – so your objectives and direction will also look different compared with another business. This is something to bear in mind when considering a model for strategic planning – there’s no such thing as ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to this. Some tips to help you as you navigate the wonderful world of strategy include:
Consider your organisational goals and which models fit best: First think about your why – why are you considering strategic planning, and what do you want to get out of it? What goals could strategic planning help you to achieve? What current systems (if any) do you have in place, and how would those work alongside the introduction of a new planning structure?
Consult your team and think about employee engagement first: No plan will work well if it doesn’t fit in with your company culture – employees need to engage with any model for strategic planning you put in place, so think about your teams first to ensure any newly implemented methodology is motivational and productive.
Get professional help: Overwhelmed? Call in the experts to help you – it’ll ensure you don’t waste time or resources barking up the wrong tree and keep your focus where it’s needed most.
How we can help At TBG we specialise in supporting the effective introduction of strategic planning and OKRs. To date, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses from SMEs to blue-chip companies to successfully implement strategic planning models.
Our aim is to help businesses flourish with firm yet flexible strategic planning structures that are designed to grow alongside them, offering no-nonsense yet friendly expert support at every step of the way.
Focus, alignment, and accountability are three aspects when it comes to reaching a goal – and OKRs should be able to set you on a straight path. Check out the ultimate guide to implementing your first set of OKRs to get started. We’ve shared how to establish the vision, rally the team and actionable tips on how to roll out a successful OKR framework.