I'm in the middle of planning. Big planning. I've been challenged to develop the operating plan for my department that will tie into the organization's overall operating plan. When I sat down to a blank screen to begin to determine the structure of this plan— which will later become my department's scorecard by which we're judged— the obvious struck me. How can I create an operational plan if I don't first have a strategic plan?

Today and tomorrow, Promotional Consultant Today shares these simple steps for effective strategic planning.

1. Define the business. The first step is to define your mission, products and markets. It is often helpful to look back a few years and describe where you've been and where you want to be based on the market landscape. Your strategic plan is your vehicle for driving your organization to the future. Here are a few questions to help you define your business: What business are we in? What is the level of profitability in our industry and why? Why are we in this business? What needs or wants do we satisfy?

2. Develop a situational analysis. After defining the business, determine the current condition of your group or team. This is best accomplished by identifying the internal and external factors influencing your team. Internal factors include areas within your company, such as: marketing, manufacturing, materials, labor, technology, finance, quality, equipment, service, distribution and service. External forces often include customers, the economy, regulatory climate and competition.

Business leader Michael Porter says that the role of a strategist is to understand and cope with the competition, yet, leaders often define the competition too narrowly. To get started, brainstorm the following questions with your team: What are our company's internal strengths and weaknesses? How strong or weak are you in the various functional areas? What are the opportunities and threats facing our organization? What is happening with the economy, government regulations, etc.? What is changing regarding our customers, suppliers, competitors, possible substitutes and potential new entrants? What have been our blind spots in the past? What is happening in these areas now? What signals might we be missing from the periphery or margins?

3. Identify assumptions. This step of the strategic planning process evaluates assumptions and risks that may occur in the near term. Again, involving team members will not only contribute new perspectives, but increase buy-in to the outcome of the process. Share the first two phases of your strategic plan with the team members. Then, ask them to brainstorm individually to answer this incomplete sentence: I assume ...

After you process their assumptions, invite them to identify assumptions in specific areas, such as the economy, inflation, consumer demand, manufacturing capacity, labor conditions, availability of material, transportation issues, changing demographics, your key competitors and so forth. The goal is to identify the critical factors that might affect your operation positively or negatively. Then, create a probability/impact risk matrix and differentiate those assumptions that you can control from those you cannot.

Ready to continue your strategic planning? Read PCT tomorrow for four more steps.

Source: Dave Jensen employed his extensive background in marketing, research and leadership to develop The Expansive Leadership Model™. Jensen uses this powerful tool to help clients conquer challenges and meet strategic goals. He is also an award-winning salesperson for Siemens and has published and directed academic research at the University of California/San Diego. He is the author of The Executive's Paradox—How to Stretch When You're Pulled by Opposing Demands.