The beginning of each year is always full of promise and high hopes but promise and high hopes alone will not effectively drive a company to profitability. Savvy business owners understand the important distinction between promise and planning. Setting a clear 2020 vision for the new year begins with effective strategic planning and these 4 steps will help business owners accomplish their 2020 vision for the new year.
Engage a facilitator – An experienced facilitator will greatly increase the value and ROI of the strategic planning exercise. Yes, a business owner can conduct the strategic planning exercise on their own but by engaging an experienced facilitator, the business owner will be afforded the opportunity to fully participate in the creative part of the process as opposed to having to deal with the procedural aspects of the strategic planning exercise.
Identify and select relevant questions –Getting this part of the process right is critical because only by asking relevant questions will the strategic planning process yield the relevant information which will lead to productive outcomes. Effective strategic planning is all about producing actionable results which will drive a company towards achieving its goals for the new year.
Identify core KPI’S – Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are specific measurable values that detail how effective a company is in achieving its key business objectives. The KPIs will be uncovered during the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) segment of the strategic planning process. The KPIs identified will deliver the foundations for building on the organization’s strengths, resolving its weaknesses, exploiting its opportunities, and avoiding the threats.
Establish quarterly checkup points – Quarterly checkup points will ensure that your strategic plan for the year is on track. Effective checkpoint intervals will ensure that any needed course corrections will be identified and implemented before a company’s strategic plan gets too far off course.
Formulating, implementing and monitoring an effective strategic plan at the outset of the new year will increase, perhaps exponentially, the chances that a company will stay on course and achieve its objectives for a clear 2020 vision.
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