Brown Bag Lunch and Learn focuses on Strategic Planning

Strategic planning shouldn't be something companies dread said Carol Rovello of Strategic Workplace Solutions during her presentation at January's Lunch and Learn.

Too often strategic plans are tedious lengthy documents that gather dust on a shelf, but approaching the process with simple tools and process can make strategic planning beneficial for businesses of all sizes.

"Only when you think strategically can you identify the organizational direction that has the best chance of leading to business success," Rovello said. "It is important to remember that your strategic plan should be fluid."

Steps to strategic planning:

1. Define where you are, where you want to be and how you will get there.
2. Examine pertinent data (internal and external)
3. Explore strategies
4. Implement the plan
5. Monitor and revise as needed
6. Evaluate your results

Rovello recommended a SCOT (strengths, challenges, opportunities, threats) analysis in place of the traditional SWOT. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). A SCOT analysis takes a broader approach. "Not all challenges area a sign of weakness," she said.

Additional tips:

• If you are solo, get trusted advisers to help you in the planning process. Outside input is helpful.
• Take a collaborative approach but remember you don't need consensus on everything.
• Make sure someone in the organization is paying attention to what is changing in your business environment so that tweaks can be made to the plan.
• Even a basic written plan can be beneficial to an organization with employees. Ensures that people have a clear picture of how their work fits into a bigger plan. Without a written plan, too much can be left to interpretation.

Download a pdf of the presentation which includes a strategic plan and action plan template.