A strategic planning template that is actively used
How many times have you seen a strategic plan binder handed to an organization, and then watched it collect dust on the shelf as the day-to-day work of leadership presses in and squeezes out the motivation, time and interest to move forward strategically? How would things be different if a visual strategic planning template was hanging on the wall of the boardroom, a living, vibrant part of the day-to-day work?
What would this kind of strategic planning template need to truly become an alive and vibrant part of the organization?
That is the question we asked: What is missing from the vast majority of strategic planning templates that allows the hard work put into designing a vision and strategic plan to become a paperweight on the CEO’s bookshelf? We came up with these answers. A good strategic planning template must include:
- Ease of use: a bound book is no easy tool to wield in day-to-day managing. To make it past the fires that flame while running an organization, a strategic planning template needs to be concise, readable, and easy to digest and use in the small blocks of time leadership can allot to it.
- Flexibility: The strategic environment that any organization operates in is highly dynamic. Tremendous impacts to an organization can come in an instant — a decision made by a competitor, an oil spill, or a crashing stock market can open doors and close others in the blink of an eye. A strategic planning template that cannot adjust to that volatility will quickly become extinct and useless to the organization trusting it to lead toward its vision.
- Accountability: Deciding the course to follow is one thing; determining who is going to do the work to stay on that course is entirely another. Without accountability, strategic work doesn’t get done. There is just too much day-to-day work to do, too many fires to put out, and small wins to grab hold of, for leadership to focus on strategy — particularly if pay-offs may not be seen for several years. But introduce accountability for results, monthly or bi-weekly updates, and support for getting the work done, and you suddenly have traction, — real traction — to carry you forward.
- Alignment: Leadership can create a plan, but if it doesn’t sell it to its constituents, and even more, if it doesn’t show it’s willing to do the work to accomplish the plan, there will never be the buy-in and alignment from front-line staff to support the work necessary.
So, now what?
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Learn the strengths and weaknesses of your strategic plan by using our assessment tool!
We will send your results, along with some practical information you can use immediately to strengthen your strategic plan.
What strategic planning template can deliver on those 4 key pieces missing from every strategic plan collecting dust on a shelf today? We believe Vision Navigation® is the strategic planning process, and the Vision Navigation® chart the template to get there. How do we know? Because we have used it 100’s of times, and we have seen the results. To read about our clients’ experience with Vision Navigation®, click here. The chart shows quickly and clearly, what must be accomplished, when it must be done, and who is responsible for getting it done. Above is a sample of a Vision Navigation® chart. We invite you to look through it, identify all 4 key components above and see if you don’t agree.
How to create a Vision Navigation® chart
If you are interested in a Vision Navigation® chart for your organization, we invite you to look around our site, get to know our staff and our process, then give us a call.
Pages you may be particularly interested in are:
- Our Strategic Planning case studies
- Our strategic planning model: this page presents the phases completed to create your unique Vision Navigation® chart.
- Strategic planning tools: on this page learn about the prominent theorists and tools that have been fit together like pieces of a puzzle to create Vision Navigation®.
- Our staff: learn more about who we are and what we can bring to your organization
When you are ready to talk with us, contact us at (877) 276-4414 for a free consultation. We will be happy to talk with you and work together to create a Vision Navigation® chart for your organization. We want nothing less that to see you achieve extraordinary results.