A key contrarian feature of the system is that the first step in any strategic plan should be a definition of the purpose of your organisation and categorically not a Vision or Mission statement as recommended by many strategic planning consultants, and nearly all the textbook templates. Almost all strategic planning processes get bogged down in non strategic detail. This system guides the chief executive and their strategic planning team through the jungle of data in search of what are called “strategic elephants” in this approach. The system then shows the team how to develop a set of strategies and action plans. The key strengths of the system are: simplicity - you do not need an MBA to understand it; it is easy to introduce - you can use internal resources; it is inclusive - at set stages you open the process up to key staff; it works - I’ve used the approach for over twenty years, including for the development of IT strategy, and in setting up a high speed network infrastructure authority. Many organisations fail to produce a strategic plan that delivers real growth and prosperity because, they pass the buck by engaging strategic planning consultants to deliver the plan resulting in lack of ownership, they don’t engage key staff in the planning process, they get bogged down in too much detail (wood from the trees syndrome). Also the plan sits on the shelf; it is not a working document, because there is no realistic linkage among performance measures, the strategies, and individual manager accountabilities.

Executive Consultancy Service