It is impossible to provide an all-encompassing example of how a firm should approach strategic planning. Ultimately, company executives need to reconcile the planning framework and their firm’s individual culture to make an effective plan that fits their situation.
Here are the three basic steps to get Strategic Planning started:
- Step one. Assess where you are now. What is your identity as expressed through your firm’s mission, vision, and values?
Define Your Organizational Profile
- What are your specialties and services offered?
- What is your organizational culture?
- Do you have unique/special skills?
- Are the ages of your key staff members balanced?
- Is a second tier for succession in place?
- Is your firm’s infrastructure, including systems, facilities, and technology, up to date?
- Step two. Assess where you would like to go. What is your direction, taking into consideration your competitive position, your long-term objectives, and your strategies, tactics, and action plans to get there?
- Step three. Assess your progress. What is your framework for accountability within your firm to ensure your strategic plan gets tracked, evaluated, and revised based on changing goals and market conditions?
A strategic plan can be effective whether it is three pages or three hundred pages, so long as it fits the culture and constraints of your firm. The critical element is to have something in writing as a basis for reflection and revision(s) in the future.