Strategic Planning

This course is designed to combine proven-by-practice methods with new insights and ideas from a wide range of current strategic thinking. Gain a wider perspective of the strategic planning process through breakout sessions, exercises and case applications. Bring your strategic dilemmas to this program and get direction on analytical and organizational approaches.

Who Should Attend

Executives, division leaders, and other senior managers involved in the formation and implementation of strategic planning.

How You Will Benefit

• Identify strategic planning issues in order to develop a unique competitive advantage
• Learn key analytical and conceptual approaches to expand your understanding of the marketplace
• Align your organization with your strategic planning goals by integrating strategy, objectives, metrics and performance
• Identify evolving strategic patterns and generate ideas on how they can be applied to your organization
• Incorporate customer needs into your strategic planning
• Use a case study to examine the strategic planning process
• Recognize how the actions of customers, competitors and your own company determine the outcomes in your markets
• Determine the best approach to effectively implement your strategic planning

What You Will Cover

• Identifying the questions and analyses that strategic planning must address
• Organizing a structured strategic planning process
• Developing a strategic mission, vision and unique value statement for your unit
• Assessing the external and internal environment
• Determining your organization’s performance profile and conducting a competitor assessment
• Conducting a VRIO analysis for identifying sustainable competitive advantages
• Applying an internal assessment to your organization
• Making strategic decisions and conducting a SWOT analysis
• Understanding the potential value of scenario planning
• Building your strategic plan and crafting your executive summary
• Communicating and executing your strategic plan
• Building commitment throughout the execution process
• Translating strategic imperatives into goals and actions
• Identifying ways to align the organization toward a single purpose

Course Outline

Learning Objectives

• Describe the Strategic Planning Process
• Use Strategic Planning Tools and Techniques to Gather and Analyze Pertinent Data
• Begin Building a Strategic Action Plan for Your Area of Responsibility

Strategic Planning Overview

• State Key Definitions of Strategic Planning Terms
• Identify the Questions That Strategic Planning Must Address
• Identify the Analyses Typically Incorporated in Strategic Planning
• Describe How These Questions and Analyses Can Be Organized into a Structured Strategic Planning Process
• Describe How Your Planning Relates to Planning at Other Levels of the Organization

The Strategic Pillars

• Differentiate Between Mission and Vision
• Examine Core Values and Their Role in Strategic Planning
• Articulate the Unique Value for Your Unit
• Describe the Value of Purpose in Ensuring a High-Performance Organization That Achieves Results
• Develop Mission and Vision Statements for Your Unit

Assessing the External Environment

• Distinguish Between Macro and Market Environments
• Identify the Macro and Market Trends That Are Shaping the Landscape
• Describe How These Trends Will Affect Your Organization and Your Customers, and What That Means for Your Specific Unit’s Strategy

Assessing the Internal Environment

• Explain the Components of an Internal Assessment
• Understand the Concept of Core Competencies
• Appreciate the Importance of Culture in an Internal Assessment
• Apply an Internal Assessment Diagnostic to Your Organization                      

Making Strategic Decisions

• Identify the Role of Data Synthesis, Insight, and Creativity in Strategic Planning
• Describe How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis for Your Unit
• Understand How to Use a SWOT Analysis to Choose Your Strategic Imperatives
• Identify Your Organization’s Integrated Components
• Determine Your Strategic Imperatives and Performance Measures

Building Your Strategic Action Plan

• Identify Key Elements of a Good Strategic Action Plan
• Begin Developing Your Own Strategic Action Plan
• Identify Key Elements of an Executive Summary

Communicating and Executing Your Strategic Action Plan

• Understand There Will Be Gaps in Executing the Strategy and a Process for Moving Forward
• Recognize How a Leader Builds Commitment Through Multiple Avenues of Communication Throughout the Execution Process
• Identify Ways to Align the Organization Toward a Single Purpose
• Establish Individual and Team Performance Goals Linked to the Strategic Action Plan
• Ensure Rewards and Recognition Are Linked to Strategic Progress