|
A sound company
strategic plan is the culmination of “think tank” sessions utilizing
both internal and external resources.
A strategic plan
provides a goal or set of goals and an implementation plan to
achieve the desired outcome. Goals without an implementation plan
are nothing more than lottery ticket fantasies. For the company to
achieve its strategic plan the majority of the company’s work force
must “buy in”. They must agree with the plan’s overall attributes
and they must be 100% behind the implementation or success will not
be forthcoming.
Most companies do not
have the in-house expertise to organize a series of strategic
planning sessions. The sessions themselves must have focus, an
agenda, a catalyst, a venue and a set of forum rules. Without all
of the aforementioned items being organized and managed properly,
the sessions will become chaotic and there will be no resolutions,
plans of attack or to say it simply, any value derived from the time
spent. Although it may sound ridiculous, a company needs to invest
in proper planning to create and implement a strategic planning
exercise.
Considering the
investment in staff time, that a company must commit to in order to
truly benefit from a group of strategic planning sessions utilizing
the services of an independent facilitator is the most economical
solution to ensuring that true value is obtained and a positive
outcome is achieved.
A facilitator will
provide expertise and knowledge in the five primary key areas to
successful sessions;
-
Focus;
-
Agenda;
-
Catalyst;
-
Venue;
-
Rules.
A
facilitator also has the attribute of being an independent sounding
board for ideas and views creating a “think outside of the box”
atmosphere; an open discussion forum, where all participants believe
that their ideas and points of view are valuable and being
considered within the context of the meetings.
Strategic planning
can be an important key to a company’s success. Make your sessions,
meaningful and beneficial contract with an independent facilitator,
they will prove to be a truly valuable investment.
|