Strategic Planning Assessment

Strategic Planning Definition and Purpose

Strategic planning is the process by which the guiding members of an organization assess its current condition, determine a desired future state, and identify actions to take in order to achieve that future. It answers these critical questions:

Where are we now?
Where are we going?
How do we get there?
How are we doing?

Strategic Planning Preparation Overview
(requires Adobe Acrobat - file size 1.5MB)

Organizations need strategic planning because the world changes constantly. It is unrealistic to assume that economic conditions, customer needs and expectations, competition in the marketplace, or a host of other factors will be the same two, three, or five years from now as they are today.

Pre-Planning Questionnaire
(requires Adobe Acrobat - file size 550KB)

The strategic planning process model used in this pro-treat is a systematic effort by your organization to deal with the inevitability of change. The importance of this process is that it enables you to help shape your organization’s future rather than simply to prepare for its future.

Sample 2-Day Agenda
(requires Adobe Acrobat - file size 500KB)

The model incorporates five characteristics of successful planning:

The process of planning is as important as the products of planning.
Planning is highly participative.
All interested parties participate in planning as partners.
The products of planning (reports and documentation) are clear, concise, and easy to read.
Strategic planning is a continuous process linked to annual planning and evaluation.

Workshops

Strategic Planning: 10-Steps to Recharge and Focus Your Leaders

If organizations and individuals don’t know where they are going, they’ll probably end up somewhere else. Strategic planning is a process that brings the guiding leaders together to learn from the past and assess current situations to plan for future success. During this preview of the process, participants learn about the players, the steps and components involved in a strategic planning process.