By Michael D Leonard
An organisation strategic plan must both reflect and be supported by the organisation’s Mission, Vision, and Values. There are a number of underpinning principles that should be used to guide leaders as they develop monitor and review the strategic plan.
1. All strategic planning should be grounded firmly in the belief that all measures planned or taken will contribute positively to the organisations outcomes.
2. All planning should can be collaboratively nature and inclusive was many key stakeholders and individuals within the organisation as possible individual should not participate solely based on a timeless status driver on past and potential contribution to the organisation.
3. There should be strong and clear visible support from leadership team all aspects of the process both your attendance and resource allocation.
4. The strategic planning process should be accomplished in less time efficient and effective manner possible it should not be a bureaucratic process rather meaningful one that will produce a living document providing clear vision and direction.
5. The plan should be evaluated on a regular basis and if there are any significant changes within the organisation’s external or internal environment that require management to intervene.
6. Resulting documents outlining the strategic plan should be simple, workable, dynamic, and concise.
7. A process should be in place whereby senior leaders in the organisation can monitor and evaluate the performance of the strategic plan and update the plan is required.
8. Specific policies and procedures must be developed to support individual components of the plan. These policies must clearly identify individual goals, objectives, target dates and measurable outcomes providing a structure and framework enabling the development of key performance indicators used in the evaluation of the Chief Executive Officers performance.
One of the most common problems with strategic plans is that they merely scratch and surface of the issues that an organisation is dealing with. One important rule of thumb when striving for depth and brevity is to avoid rehashing information.
Any use of theory used in the development of a strategic plan must ensure that the right principle and sequencing are kept in mind; theory should not be looking for an appropriate problems, but problems looking for an appropriate theory providing an understanding how issues can be resolved.
There should be an expectation that the plans reasoning the carried through to its logical end resulting in a motivated solution including an overview of costs and benefits, and detailed indication of how implementation could be assured, alternate lines of action should also be developed to provide leaders as many options as possible to achieve implementation of the plan.
Working in a structured manner shouldn’t imply that one works through the case mechanically. Creativity, for instance in terms of original responses to competitive threats, inventive growth strategies or unconventional solutions to implementation problems, is an important element in the implementation of the plan and therefore actively encouraged.
About
Michael D Leonard has experience in the management of Healthcare Organisations and the delivery of leadership management programs.in the areas of Change Management, Organisational Behaviour,Marketing, Leadership and Management, Policy Development and Analysis. Michael invites you to visit his website https://guidetowritingpolicy.com/ where you can read a blog on leadership issues and you can also download a copy of Effective Policy Writing an eBook providing detailed information on the development and implementation of policy initiatives. Michael is available to conduct in-house leadership mentoring programs, leadership coaching or Organisational wide reviews at and can be contacted at [email protected].