Executing a Strategic Plan Successfully

Executing a Strategic Plan Successfully – Six Key Tips.

There is no question that creating a strategic plan is a vital process that will set your business, or non-profit up for future growth and success. It’s an opportunity to take a half-step back and analyze your business identifying such things as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and future threats. By using strategic planning models like SWAT, you are creating your own exciting masterpiece that will act as a roadmap and guide you through the ups and downs by setting masterful strategic objectives for your organization.

I have been involved as a strategic planning facilitator on several strategic plans and have seen many of these plans successfully become part of an organizations DNA. They are taken seriously by the entire team, and they are the leading force to get the organization to accomplish their goals and objectives. On the contrary, I have also seen strategic plans that have looked great at the time of launch but have derailed during the execution process. All that hard work developing a solid strategic plan has become a disappointment due to a lack of an execution strategy. The following six tips are key to executing a successful strategic plan.

1. Have a compelling vision and mission statement that you share with your entire team. It’s important that your objectives align to your company’s unique mission and vision statement and that your staff takes ownership of these vital statements. They are the building blocks of your strategic plan and should be embedded in daily activity by staff.

2. Create clear compelling and measurable goals in your strategic plan. What behavior needs to change to get the results you are trying to achieve and how do we measure the goal? Smaller micro goals are also necessary to help achieve the larger goals.

3. It’s critical that you involve the entire team in the strategic planning process. Do this by having a diverse strategic planning committee for all areas of the business – not just senior management. That way you will have buy-in from all staff.

4. Make sure you have regular townhall meetings with your staff to review the strategic plan and communicate successes and challenges. It’s surprising how you can encourage buy-in and gain momentum from staff through communication. Encourage staff to give valuable feedback as their contributions are priceless.

5. The business world changes very quickly in today’s ecosytem, so don’t be afraid to pivot and change course anytime during the process. Perhaps there was a change with your competitor, or technology disruptions has forced your business to change course quickly. Just make sure you align your new objectives with your vision and mission statement and communicate these changes to all staff.

6. It’s critical for senior staff to acknowledge and give praise to staff when goals are accomplished. Even recognizing a small win can go a long way to staff and help build momentum.

Building a strategic plan is an extremely rewarding and invigorating process that can bring life to your non-profit or business. The execution of your unique strategic plan is key to the success of realizing your organizations vision. If you need someone to help keep you on track, it’s always good to align yourself with a business consultant, or a strategic planning facilitator to help keep you honest and make sure you are moving in a forward trajectory to accomplish your goals.