Strategic Planning and Productivity

Strategic Planning Benefits

• Provides a roadmap for teams, reducing ambiguity and improving workflow efficiency, ultimately boosting productivity levels.
• Enables decision-making by guiding it with extensive goals and objectives of the organization.
• Helps identify priority areas and allocate resources (financial, human, and technological) to achieve desired outcomes.
• Serves as a foundation for operational planning by translating high-level objectives into doable tasks and initiatives.
• Enables effective talent acquisition, development, and retention strategies aligned with future needs and goals.
• Anticipates and prepares the organization for possible changes in the internal and external environment, improving adaptability and resilience.

Importance of Clarifying Purpose

• Clarifying purpose helps prevent confusion and conflict within an organization.
• Purpose serves as a powerful communication tool, both internally and externally.
• Failure to clearly communicate an organization's purpose can restrict its effectiveness.

Creating the Purpose Sentence

• Includes an infinitive verb that indicates a change in status, such as "to increase," "to decrease," or "to prevent."
• Identifies the problem to be addressed or changed.
• Should be broad in solving the actual problems that the organization wants to tackle.

Summarizing the Business

• A business statement is a summary statement regarding means, whereas the purpose phrase is an ends statement.
• Frequently uses verbs "to provide," "by," or "through."
• The business is the organization's answer to the main challenge.

Visioning During Strategic Planning Process

• Creating a vision statement and participating in the visioning process motivates an organization's board and workforce.
• Allows them to conceive and define a future they wish to work toward.
• Establishes criteria for defining priorities by identifying what is most critical for reaching the desired future.
• A clear vision aids decision-making and develops a sense of ownership and commitment among all stakeholders.

Drafting a Values Statement

• Emphasizes the fundamental principles and ideals of an organization.
• Serves to educate and direct the actions and choices of individuals within the organization.
• Communicates to external stakeholders what the company values.
• Core values shape an organization's daily culture and set benchmarks for evaluating actions and decisions.
• Should be easily remembered, actionable, and timeless.