The steps of the strategic planning process in under 15 minutes

Summary

Anthony Taylor from Strategy I presents a concise guide to strategic planning, aiming to maximize the utility of planning tools. He outlines a four-step process: assessing current status, defining goals, identifying obstacles, and devising action plans. Taylor emphasizes the importance of aligning leadership, vision, and organization-wide strategies. He advises creating a vivid vision, establishing a clear mission, and aligning values to drive performance. He also discusses risk identification and mitigation, strategic choices, and the necessity of clear communication and goal cascading for successful strategy implementation.

Takeaways

• 📈 **Strategic Planning Process**: Anthony Taylor outlines a strategic planning process with four components: current position, desired future, obstacles, and required actions.
• 🔗 **Alignment**: Three types of alignment are crucial: with leadership, vision and strategy, and across the entire organization.
• 🌍 **External Analysis**: Conducting an external analysis like SWOT or PESTAL is essential to understand the external environment.
• 🏢 **Internal Analysis**: Engaging stakeholders and management team inputs is vital for internal analysis.
• 🚀 **Vision Creation**: Creating a vivid vision that motivates and inspires, considering where the organization will be in the future.
• 🎯 **Mission and Purpose**: Defining a clear mission that moves the organization towards the vision, understanding why it exists and who its main customers are.
• 🏛 **Values and Culture**: Recognizing the DNA of the organization through its values and culture, which drive performance.
• 🛑 **Risks and Obstacles**: Identifying potential risks such as leadership, communication, resources, and buy-in that could hinder strategy implementation.
• 📊 **Strategy and Tactics**: Developing strategies and tactics to accomplish goals, with a focus on making choices that align with the vision and mission.
• 📋 **Performance Measurement**: Establishing KPIs to measure strategic priorities and determine success.
• 🔄 **Cascading Goals**: Ensuring goals at all levels (organizational, team, functional, individual) align and contribute to the overall strategy.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the strategic planning process described in the script?

The purpose of the strategic planning process is to guide organizations in defining their current position, desired future state, obstacles they may face, and the actions needed to achieve their goals, ultimately adding value to the organization.

How long does Anthony Taylor aim to run through the strategic planning process?

Anthony Taylor aims to run through the strategic planning process in under 15 minutes.

What are the four components of the strategic planning process mentioned in the script?

The four components are: where are we now, where are we going, what's going to get in our way, and what do we need to do to get to where we want to go.

What are the three types of alignment Anthony Taylor discusses in the strategic planning process?

The three types of alignment are: alignment with the leadership team, alignment with the vision and the strategy, and alignment within the whole organization.

What is the first part of the strategic planning process according to the script?

The first part of the strategic planning process is getting inputs, which includes doing an external analysis like a SWOT or PESTAL analysis and an internal analysis such as a stakeholder engagement survey or management team inputs.

What is the role of vision in the strategic planning process?

The vision is a critical part of the strategic planning process as it defines where the organization is going and serves as a motivational tool to inspire people to contribute towards achieving that vision.

How does Anthony Taylor suggest creating a compelling vision?

Anthony Taylor suggests creating a vision by being as descriptive as possible, visualizing what success looks like, and ensuring it is vivid enough to motivate and inspire the team.

What are the potential risks or obstacles that can hinder the strategic planning process?

Potential risks or obstacles include lack of leadership alignment, poor communication, insufficient resources, and lack of buy-in from the team.

How does the script suggest dealing with risks identified in the strategic planning process?

The script suggests identifying risks, creating impact studies, and developing mitigation plans to proactively address uncertainties and minimize the downside of these risks.

What is the importance of aligning strategy with the organization's vision and purpose?

Aligning strategy with the organization's vision and purpose ensures that all efforts are directed towards achieving the mission and brings the organization closer to realizing its vision.

What does Anthony Taylor recommend for setting strategic priorities?

Anthony Taylor recommends focusing on a handful of objectives, making significant progress on strategic priorities, and ensuring they align with the mission and vision of the organization.

How does the script define the role of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the strategic planning process?

KPIs are defined as performance measures and targets that help measure the success of strategic priorities and provide a scoreboard for the team to know if they are on track to achieve the organization's goals.

Outlines

00:00

🎯 Introduction to Strategic Planning and Tools

Anthony Taylor introduces himself and the purpose of the video. He thanks the audience for downloading strategic planning tools like the 15 questions template, strategic planning template, or assessment. He briefly outlines the goal of the video: to explain the strategic planning process in under 15 minutes. The process is broken down into four key components: assessing the current situation, determining the future vision, identifying obstacles, and developing actions to achieve the vision. Taylor emphasizes the need for leadership, strategy alignment, and team cohesion across all organizational levels.

05:01

📊 Understanding Inputs and Vision in Strategic Planning

This section covers the initial steps in strategic planning, focusing on conducting external (SWOT, PESTAL) and internal analyses (stakeholder surveys, management inputs). Taylor stresses the importance of vision in guiding an organization’s direction, describing it as a blueprint for success. A well-crafted vision motivates teams and outlines future success. He advises making the vision as vivid as possible by imagining the organization’s state in 3 to 5, or even 10 to 25 years. The vision should include clear goals that unite the team and inspire a sense of shared purpose.

10:02

🚀 Mission, Purpose, and Core Values

Taylor explains how an organization’s mission helps achieve the vision by focusing on its core purpose, target audience, and value proposition. He emphasizes simplicity and avoiding buzzwords in crafting the mission. This section also discusses the importance of organizational values, which reflect the culture and norms guiding behaviors. Values, likened to DNA, influence performance by shaping the way work is done. Leadership must align the mission, values, and strategy to create a cohesive plan that moves the organization toward its long-term vision.

⛔ Identifying Risks and Barriers to Strategic Execution

Taylor identifies common risks and barriers that can impede strategy execution, including leadership misalignment, poor communication, inadequate resources, and lack of team buy-in. He highlights the importance of involving the team in the planning process to foster buy-in and mitigate resistance. Taylor warns that if leadership is not united, it could derail the strategy. Communication is particularly emphasized as a potential obstacle, as unclear plans can lead to confusion and inefficiency. Ensuring sufficient time, budget, and human resources is critical for successful implementation.

🔍 Constraints, Risks, and Proactive Mitigation

This segment covers how constraints—like time, budget, and human resources—can threaten the success of strategic plans. Taylor recommends identifying uncertainties and performing impact studies to proactively mitigate risks. Planning for these risks allows for better preparation and minimizes reactive measures. He also discusses the importance of making strategic choices, noting that strategy involves selecting the most critical actions to accomplish the organization’s mission and vision. A structured approach with clear objectives and KPIs ensures progress is measurable and effective.

📈 Setting Strategic Priorities and KPIs

Taylor explains the importance of focusing on a few key strategic priorities that directly align with the organization's mission and vision. He advocates for creating measurable objectives, initiatives, and strategies that support these priorities. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are essential to measure progress, acting as a 'scoreboard' for teams to gauge their success. Without clear KPIs, teams may lack direction and work aimlessly. The Balanced Scorecard framework is introduced, organizing objectives and measures into four categories: Financial, Customer, Learning and Growth, and Internal Business Processes.

🏆 Cascading Goals and Accountability

Cascading goals are discussed as a way to ensure alignment between organizational, team, functional, and individual objectives. Taylor emphasizes the need for clear accountability, with specific individuals, not departments, being responsible for driving strategic initiatives forward. This alignment ensures that all levels of the organization are working toward the same ultimate goal. He also touches on the need for continuous communication and engagement throughout the implementation process to maintain momentum and alignment over time.

📢 Communicating and Aligning the Strategic Plan

Communication is highlighted as a key factor in ensuring the successful implementation of a strategic plan. Taylor advises sharing the plan in various formats (e.g., words, audio, visuals) to accommodate different learning styles within the organization. Keeping the plan top of mind is essential for maintaining alignment and ensuring everyone understands their role in achieving the organization’s goals. He also stresses the importance of ongoing alignment, where both leadership and employees are committed to the plan from top to bottom.

🚀 Executing the Strategic Plan and Driving Alignment

Taylor concludes by reiterating the importance of executing the strategic plan effectively. This requires clear communication, working backwards from the vision, and consistently aligning actions with the organization’s objectives. Strategic planning is about making critical choices that drive the organization forward efficiently. By maintaining focus, aligning the team, and avoiding distractions, organizations can save resources and make a larger impact. Taylor encourages the audience to approach planning with dedication, as it benefits not only the organization but also its employees and communities.

👋 Final Thoughts and Encouragement for Strategic Planning

In this closing section, Taylor provides words of encouragement for those engaging in the strategic planning process. He emphasizes the importance of structured planning to enhance the value provided to customers and other stakeholders. Taylor hopes the video has been helpful in guiding viewers through their planning process. He signs off by wishing everyone success in their strategic efforts, reaffirming his role as the Managing Partner of SM Strategy.

Keywords

💡Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a process used by organizations to set priorities, allocate resources, and ensure that all members are working towards common goals. In the video, the presenter outlines a clear strategic planning process that includes steps like analyzing where the organization is now, where it wants to go, and identifying barriers to success. This concept is central to the video's message about creating an effective roadmap for an organization's future.

💡Vision

A vision is a long-term goal that outlines where an organization wants to be in the future. The video emphasizes the importance of having a clear, motivating vision to inspire the team and guide strategic efforts. It asks organizations to consider where they want to be in 3 to 5 years, and how success would look, ensuring that the entire organization can align with this goal.

💡Mission

The mission refers to the core purpose of the organization—why it exists and what it aims to achieve. The video connects the mission to the vision, explaining that if an organization fulfills its mission, it will move closer to achieving its long-term vision. The mission also focuses on serving the main customer and ensuring simplicity and clarity in defining the organization's objectives.

💡Alignment

Alignment is about ensuring that everyone in the organization, from leadership to employees, is working towards the same goals. The video describes three types of alignment: among the leadership team, with the organization's vision and strategy, and throughout the entire organization. Achieving alignment is critical to the successful implementation of the strategic plan, as it ensures that all efforts are coordinated and moving in the same direction.

💡SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a tool used to identify an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The video suggests conducting a SWOT as part of the 'where are we now' stage of strategic planning to understand both internal and external factors affecting the organization. This analysis helps the organization shape strategies that capitalize on strengths and opportunities while mitigating weaknesses and threats.

💡Tactics

Tactics refer to the specific actions or steps taken to implement a strategy. In the video, tactics are described as the individual pieces of a strategic plan that support broader goals and objectives. They are essential for turning high-level strategies into actionable tasks, making sure that every part of the plan has concrete actions associated with it.

💡KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

KPIs are metrics used to measure the success of specific objectives within a strategic plan. The video highlights the importance of having clear KPIs to track progress towards strategic priorities. KPIs act as a scoreboard for employees, allowing them to understand how their contributions are leading to the success of the organization’s strategic goals.

💡Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder engagement involves gathering inputs and feedback from key individuals or groups that are affected by or have influence over the organization. The video emphasizes conducting a stakeholder engagement survey to gather internal analysis during the strategic planning process. This step helps ensure that the plan reflects the needs and expectations of all relevant parties.

💡Balanced Scorecard

The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that organizations use to align business activities to the vision and strategy. It includes four key areas: financial metrics, customer metrics, learning and growth, and internal processes. The video suggests using this model to ensure that performance measures in each area are aligned with the organization’s overall goals.

💡Risk Mitigation

Risk mitigation refers to identifying potential risks to the strategic plan and developing strategies to minimize their impact. The video explains that uncertainties, such as lack of leadership alignment or communication issues, can derail a plan. By identifying these risks early and planning how to mitigate them, organizations can stay proactive and on track with their strategic objectives.

Highlights

Introduction to the strategic planning process and its benefits for organizations.

Explanation of the four components of strategic planning: current position, desired future, obstacles, and action plans.

Emphasis on the three types of alignment necessary for strategic planning: leadership, vision and strategy, and organizational.

Importance of conducting an external analysis using SWOT or PESTAL frameworks.

Recommendation for internal analysis through stakeholder engagement surveys or management inputs.

The strategic planning process overview, starting with vision and ending with tactics.

How to create a compelling vision that motivates and inspires.

The significance of the mission and its role in moving towards the vision.

The role of values and culture in aligning with the organization's strategy.

Identifying risks that could hinder strategic planning implementation.

The proactive approach to managing uncertainties and risks.

The concept of strategy being about making choices and prioritizing actions.

The Pyramid of Purpose and its role in focusing on a handful of strategic objectives.

Importance of setting specific objectives, strategies, tactics, and KPIs.

The balance scorecard approach to measuring strategic priorities across different dimensions.

The concept of cascading goals from organizational to individual levels.

Managing key people responsible for strategic initiatives.

The importance of communication in sharing the strategic plan with the organization.

Aligning the team and executing the plan for maximum impact.

The necessity of clear communication, buy-in, and motivation for successful strategy implementation.

The impact of an aligned and clear strategic plan on time, money, resources, and employee happiness.

Conclusion and a call to action for happy planning.

Transcripts

ladies and gents Anthony Taylor here

from strategy I just wanted to thank you

for downloading your tool whether it's

the 15 questions the strategic planning

template uh strategic planning

assessment or something else and as an

added bonus I wanted to uh run through

the strategic planning process with you

so that you could get the most out of

your tool and bring the most value to

your organization so I Endeavor to do

this in under 15 minutes so let's do it

so strategic planning process when we do

it there's basically four components

there's where are we now where are we

going what's going to get in our way and

what do we need to do to get to where we

want to

go uh in our process our align strategy

development process that we do here

there's three types of alignment

alignment with the leadership team so

making sure everybody on the leadership

team is on the same page that's board or

leadership uh alignment with the vision

and the strategy and Alignment within

the whole organization so top down

bottom up everybody's the same page so

the first part of the strategic planning

process is getting inputs where are we

now that's things like doing an external

analysis whether that's a SWAT or a

pestal analysis you need to figure out

what's going on outside of your

organization as well as inside your

organization uh as you build your

strategy the second input that I would

recommend is doing an internal analysis

something like a stakeholder engagement

survey or just management team inputs

and that's why a strategic planning

session is so valuable and we even do a

survey before all of

ours this is the overview of the

strategic planning process so it starts

with the vision where are we going then

you'll get there by accomplishing your

mission you'll have goals and objectives

along the way that help you accomplish

your mission that help you accomplish

your vision and then the strategies how

you going to accomplish your goals and

the tactics are the individual pieces to

your strategic plan so creating your

strategic plan most important piece of

this is the vision where are we going

the future is uncertain but we as an

organization have an opportunity to

create that future so how do you create

a vision that isn't just words a vision

is super valuable to be able to motivate

your people and inspire people to want

to do more and contribute so a way to

think about it is if success was a place

how would we know if we got there where

are we going why should we go there and

what is winning we're creating the

future however long it is from now and

we want to be as descriptive as possible

um on the outset so what do you see for

your organization in 3 to 5 years or

maybe 10 to 25 years what's a big goal

within that Vision that could polarize

your team and ideally that one big

Target everybody can contribute

to uh it's really important for them to

describe the vision as vividly as

possible so what do operations look like

what a staff look like what do clients

look like how else does your

organization look different and think of

it like a blueprint for for a house

that's what you're

building the next piece to this is the

mission and the purpose if you complete

your mission you will move forward

towards the

vision why do you exist what do you do

it for who is your main customer and

what do you do for them it's important

to realize that you have to make it

simple to understand no buzzwords and

this is not a me marketing exercise this

is at the core Foundation of why your

organization exists so the next piece

that helps the mission Stay Together are

values within the organization you could

use values or culture but it's really

the DNA of your organization what do you

value currently within the organization

what are the cultures and Norms of your

organization and of your people why are

they important um what values are

important to them how would you describe

the organization if it were a person

good or bad what is the way we do things

around here if you're explaining it to

somebody new what's not except Behavior

it's important for you to recognize that

values drive performance it ties the

whole strategy

together so again you have to align your

strategy with your vision and your

purpose if you accomplish your purpose

your mission and then you will be closer

to accomplishing your vision so here's

some risk what's going to get in our way

leadership if you don't have the whole

management team on board it's going to

pull back your strategy because they're

the ones uh giving the marching orders

to your staff and your employees

communication this is the biggest uh

hindrance to a successful implementation

because people don't know what the plan

is they don't know what they're doing

and they're withholding important

information that is really crucial to

the plan resources if you don't give

enough time or money to put something in

place then it's just not going to happen

and then buy in do you want to be

creating a plan and pushing it on your

people or do you want them to buy into

the plan because you're allowing them to

contribute and move forward on it

themselves so other implementation

Contra constraints time budgets Human

Resources technology and pretty much

anything you can think of uh it's

waiting around the corner and there are

opportunities in the planning process to

identify them create uh impact studies

as well as mitigation plans to minimize

uh the downside of these risks so what

uncertainties exist for us what are the

impacts of those uncertainties what is

the likelihood of that happening and

what can we do to mitigate that risk

that way you are proactive instead of

reactive and it keeps your plan on task

so what are the most important things

you should be doing in your organization

to accomplish your mission and your

vision strategy inherently is about

choices and there are a million in one

choices every single day so when you

create the plan you need to work

backwards to create the tasks the roles

the individual uh areas of

responsibility and you can just look

right now how do you create work plans

as it

exists this is one of the tools that we

actually sell on strategy and this is

the Pyramid of purpose in other words

and we just say hey focus on a handful

of objectives don't do too much do the

Strategic priorities well make

significant progress on them and then

move forward from there ideally your

strategic priorities help you accomplish

your mission help you accomplish your

vision it's all aligned

and then from there you have to put the

specific objectives and initiatives the

strategies and tactics underneath as

well as kpis so

kpis uh performance measures and targets

how are you going to measure your

strategic priorities how are you going

to know if you are successful and this

is really important you have to have a

scoreboard for your people they need to

know how they are going to be successful

in your plan if you don't have that then

they're just going to be working with a

Le less aim almost aimlessly um and it

will really hurt you coming by in so

this is the balance scorecard um you can

find this on strategy or anywhere else

or your organization fundamentally does

four things there's Financial metrics

there's customer metrics there's

learning and growth metrics and there's

internal business processes and from

each you have objectives measures

targets and initiatives that all roll

into your strategy and that help you

accomplish your

vision so another important piece of

that are cascading goals so think of the

goals from the organizational level the

team level the functional level and the

individual they all should roll up into

the ultimate uh goal of the organization

and so this can be designed um can't

really be done run in one meeting it

needs to be done over time and everybody

needs to know how they can do their part

to contribute to the strategy so big

picture uh versus practical application

there's people that you have to manage

so who are the key people in your

organization that are responsible for

functional areas where are gaps as far

as key functions that you have right now

and are there people responsible for

more than one area that basically means

who is going to be the human being not

the department that is responsible for

moving these strategic initiatives

forward the Buck has to stop with a

person and people can be hard to manage

um communicating the plan like I said

earlier communication is ke how are you

going to share this strategic plan with

your organization so everybody can know

how to contribute keep in mind that

different people obsorb information in

different ways words audio pictures

whatever works for you um you need to

keep the plan top of mind so that people

can be aware of where the organization

is going and what they need to do to

move forward in it it's all about

alignment if you lose out on some of

these pieces the entire strategy can

fall you need to make sure that the plan

is aligned your people are aligned and

it goes from the top down to the bottom

up and once you get alignment and buying

that's when real magic starts happening

and you make really big progress and

important progress on your plan and

everything that you work on how do you

get alignment you got to communicate

clearly and simply you need to get Buy

in so bring people into the process so

they know how they can contribute you

need to match goals and motivation think

of it from their perspective every

everybody has a different reason to come

to work and that's why we're really

passionate about what we do because we

make people's lives better your

employees will have better lives it will

affect their families and their

communities when they can be successful

in their work and to be successful they

need to have the capability to do that

so you got to give them the tools and

the resources they need to succeed if

you give them a plan but you know uh

chop block them and don't allow them to

be successful they're not going to be

very motivated to come into work and to

give it their best so so when the rubber

hits the road you need to align your

team and execute the plan that means

getting communication and then working

backwards from the vision to build a

plan that comes together and is well

aligned like I said strategy is about

choices and you just need to pick the

most important things that are going to

move your organization forward in the

most effective way possible so if you

have an aligned plan and you have a

clear direction and you keep that top of

mind and don't sway pay from it you're

going to save time money and resources

your people are going to be happier and

you're just going to get more done which

means you're going to have a bigger

impact and you're going to help more

people and that's really what it's about

so happy planning everyone I hope you

enjoyed this video I hope it helps you

structure your strategic planning

process and I hope it uh helps you add

more value to your customers and anyone

that else is that is affected by your

business so it's been Anthony Taylor I'm

the managing partner at SM strategy and

I really hope this has helped have an

amazing day and happy planning