Strategic Planning

Every company says that they have a strategy. Having a vision and mission statement is not a strategy. Goals are also not a strategy. Strategy defines the who, why, and what of your organization. A strategy is only really strategy if alters the behavior of the people in your organization. So, you think you have a strategy?

Our approach to strategic planning focuses on strategy, not planning. We incorporate coaching and accountability into the process.

Strategy must identify and be able to answer these six questions:

• What do we do better than anyone else? Your strategic advantage.
• Who do we want to become (shared vision)? (Does this shared vision incorporate the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of those you are attempting to lead?)
• Will our strategy help us to grow or help improve the value we deliver to our customers? In other words, will our strategy work?
• Who is our ideal customer?
• What issues are we ignoring or sweeping under the table, that pose a threat to our business?
• What are our core values that drive behavior and shape the culture of your institution?

Should you dump your strategic planning process? The best way to know if your process is working is to ask this question: Are your leaders and employees fully engaged and inspired on a shared vision and on what you do better than anybody else?