Corporate strategic planning
Corporate strategic planning: A vision on a mission
The mission statement of your company tells you the purpose of your organisation, concentrating on the present. On the other hand, your vision statement focuses on what your organisation wants to be. It looks towards the future and acts as a source of inspiration, providing clear decision-making criteria. This, of course, is the ideal scenario. By linking directly to the mission and vision of your company, corporate strategic planning is the tool whereby the organisation remains true to its mission on a daily basis and takes positive strides towards achieving its vision. It does this by identifying priorities and creating a framework for individuals, departments and programmes in which to operate.
Strategic planning is thus the process by which a company will define its direction and make decisions on how to pursue this strategy. This includes the allocation of its resources, such as its people and capital. When considering the future course of your business, you should consider what your company does, who it does it for and how will it be capable of excelling.
During the strategy development it is very important to assess the present state of the organisation and its environment. For this purpose a SWOT analysis should be conducted to figure out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the company. Internal analysis should point out the strengths and weaknesses of the business, while analysis on an external level should identify all opportunities and threats posed by the external environment. You need to pay attention to various external factors, including your market, the competition, suppliers, economic factors, technology and legislation.
The company needs to know exactly where it currently stands in order to determine where it wants to go, and, following on that, how it will get there. This will be your strategic plan.
Corporate strategic planning can thus be summarised by the following few actions. First there need to be a set mission statement and a defined vision. The current position of the business needs to be analyzed. An action plan must be formulated on how to attain these goals, and then be implemented and monitored. Business Modelling Associates can assist you through this critical process. Visit the professionals at businessmodelling.com
