Every day we make plans. Some of them may involve routine tasks like grocery shopping, while other will dictate the outcome of far bigger projects. As a business person, you should learn how to do strategic planning, especially if you plan to grow your venture. This is an administrative tool that can be used at all organizations, whether big or small. Generally, it involves many small steps, but there are those which are mandatory.
In order for this process to work, you need to sit down with all your major stakeholders. This way, every department will be well represented in the decision making. Because the way you operate is dependent on your company goals, this should be the first thing you look at. Changing economic times require that you also change your goals and vision. In case you have not been doing this, you will find that the goals you are using are outdated, or impossible to achieve.
Companies have annual or monthly meetings, to set targets and discuss the issues you may be facing. When drawing up your strategic plan, you should look over what you have been discussing. This will show you the pitfalls you have been facing, and will stop you from making the same wrong decision again. It will also save you a lot of time.
When something is going wrong, you first need to find the cause of the problem, before you can fix it. For most organizations, this is a mixture of internal and external factors. Since, in most cases, you cannot control the external factors, you will need to ensure that the internal ones are handled. If you have a healthy work environment, you will find that they will tell you what they think is wrong. This information should not be coaxed out of your employees.
You should also get them to list what they think are the problems facing the company as whole, as well as the strengths. This might shine a light on issues you never thought to look at, and can easily help you assess the situation. Be very careful when collecting this information, and avoid reprimanding or singling out anyone, in relation to the opinions they express.
By this point, you should have a list of suggestions on what to do. This should not only concern every department and the business as a whole. When the implementation process is broken down to a lower level, it becomes easier because the supervisors will have fewer people to monitor. You need to be very careful not to assign overlapping duties, as this could breed conflict.
Every company will have different things to implement, after the planning process. Most people, however, tend to review their budget, employment records, and even working procedures. Sometimes the changes are small like reducing the number of working hours, or large like restructuring a whole department. You, therefore, need to be very careful to avoid implementing the wrong thing.
Making and implementing the plan is only part of the process. You need to have an evaluation period to see whether you are making progress. If there is progress, you can stay with the system in place and just regularly update it. However, if there are no changes you might have to consider going back to the drawing board.
In order for this process to work, you need to sit down with all your major stakeholders. This way, every department will be well represented in the decision making. Because the way you operate is dependent on your company goals, this should be the first thing you look at. Changing economic times require that you also change your goals and vision. In case you have not been doing this, you will find that the goals you are using are outdated, or impossible to achieve.
Companies have annual or monthly meetings, to set targets and discuss the issues you may be facing. When drawing up your strategic plan, you should look over what you have been discussing. This will show you the pitfalls you have been facing, and will stop you from making the same wrong decision again. It will also save you a lot of time.
When something is going wrong, you first need to find the cause of the problem, before you can fix it. For most organizations, this is a mixture of internal and external factors. Since, in most cases, you cannot control the external factors, you will need to ensure that the internal ones are handled. If you have a healthy work environment, you will find that they will tell you what they think is wrong. This information should not be coaxed out of your employees.
You should also get them to list what they think are the problems facing the company as whole, as well as the strengths. This might shine a light on issues you never thought to look at, and can easily help you assess the situation. Be very careful when collecting this information, and avoid reprimanding or singling out anyone, in relation to the opinions they express.
By this point, you should have a list of suggestions on what to do. This should not only concern every department and the business as a whole. When the implementation process is broken down to a lower level, it becomes easier because the supervisors will have fewer people to monitor. You need to be very careful not to assign overlapping duties, as this could breed conflict.
Every company will have different things to implement, after the planning process. Most people, however, tend to review their budget, employment records, and even working procedures. Sometimes the changes are small like reducing the number of working hours, or large like restructuring a whole department. You, therefore, need to be very careful to avoid implementing the wrong thing.
Making and implementing the plan is only part of the process. You need to have an evaluation period to see whether you are making progress. If there is progress, you can stay with the system in place and just regularly update it. However, if there are no changes you might have to consider going back to the drawing board.
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