Strategic Planning: When Is The Best Time For Strategic Planning?

Strategic planning is extremely important to any organization and determines where an organization is going over the next few years.

Strategic planning is also important in determining how your business is going to get there and how you will know when and if your plan is achieved or not.

A strategic plan is normally focused on an entire organization, whereas the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular program, product, or service.

The strategic planning scheduling process depends on the nature and needs of an organization and it's market.

For example, in an organization that is in an industry whose products and services are rapidly changing, strategic planning should be carried out more frequently than in an industry that is not.

Strategic planning in this type of industry should probably be conducted in a comprehensive and detailed manner at least twice a year, in order to remain competitive and implement their goals.

Particular attention should be paid to mission, values, environmental issues, vision, objectives, responsibilities, time lines, goals, strategies, budgets, etc.

On the other hand, if an organization is in a stable market and has been around for many years; strategic planning could be carried out only once a year on only parts of the planning process.

Here are some guidelines to strategic planning you should consider.

Strategic planning should be done well before hand when an organization is just getting started. It should be part of the overall business plan along with a strategic marketing plan, an operational management plan, and a financial plan.

Strategic planning should always be done in preparation for any new business venture. This could be a partnership, a new product line, or just the development of a new division or department.

Strategic planning should also be conducted prior to each fiscal year's end. This is necessary to identify the organizational goals for the upcoming year. It is also required in order to determine what resources will be needed to achieve those goals and what financial planning is needed to acquire the funds for those resources.

Budget planning for the upcoming fiscal year is always an essential part of strategic planning.

A full strategic planning review should be conducted at least once every three years for a company that is not experiencing tremendous changes or annually if the organization is new or in a state of flux.

Strategic action plans should be updated yearly and during the updating process; the progress of the implementation should also be reviewed and modified when necessary.

Because strategic planning is so important in determining the fate of an organization; the frequency of reviews depends entirely on the degree of change an organization experiences.

If your company, regardless of it's size is not doing any strategic planning, you should implement some sort of policy immediately.

Here are the 5 primary reasons for business failure online that strategic planning can help you avoid.