Strategic business planning is one of the cornerstones to the success of any business. It enables firms to set clear goals and make good decisions while keeping every single person within the firm aligned with controlling the company's objectives. However, it is not always easy to develop a good strategic plan. Thankfully, there exist plenty of tools that can simplify such things for businesses to enable them to remain on track and easily reach their goals.
Tools of strategic planning assists organisations in formulating, deploying, and overseeing strategic plans. These tools can span from analysing the present environment through establishing the objectives, to tracking the development stages.
For a better understanding of The Best strategic planning, it is best to enroll in a Strategic Planning Professional (SPP) Course offered by the British Academy for Training and Development.
SWOT Analysis has been used as a technique for almost all strategic planning. It means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. These above all enable an organisation to examine its internal and external environment and make the correct decisions.
Identify what the organisation does well, such as unique resources, skilled employees, or a strong brand.
Look at areas that need improvement, like lack of expertise or outdated technology.
Analyse external factors that could benefit the organization, such as market trends or changes in customer behavior.
Examine possible challenges, such as competition or regulatory changes.
Simple and easy to use. Encourage a holistic view of the organisation. Helps to prioritise actions by focusing on most critical areas.
This is one of the two types of external surveys. It stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental - in short, all forces affecting an organization from outside.
An analysis of government policies, import-export regulations, and political stability.
Evaluation of inflation, interest rates, and economic growth.
A test of technological advancements that might act upon the business.
A picture of legal regulations, employment laws, as well as consumer protection laws.
Consideration of environmental issues, such as sustainability and climate change.
Provides very elaborate information on the external environment.
Prepare organisations to face future challenges.
Encourages proactive decision-making.
The balanced scorecard is a strategic management tool in which company activities are aligned to the vision and strategy of the organization, by focusing on four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and Learning & Growth.
Specify objectives in each context.
Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress.
Align team efforts in line with the vision of the organization.
Enlarges the picture of the entire organisation, such as performance.
Measures the actual level of progress in relation to the business strategic objectives.
Catalyst for collaboration between different departments
Define an OKR (Objective and Key Result) : OKR may be referred to as a measure for goal-setting through which organizations find a way of defining the goals and measuring their outcomes. Therefore, popularised by organisations such as Google, OKR has managed to provide a clear pathway toward the achievement of measurable results.
Setting high-level objectives clearly aligned with the mission of the organisation.
Identifying key results that would quantify how progress towards that objective is proceeding.
Timeframe within which the goals were supposed to be achieved.
Encouraging focus and prioritisation.
Clear metrics for measuring success.
Promotes accountability and transparency.
It is a technique meant for examining the competitive environment of any industry. It, broadly speaking, consists of the five forces that affect the market dynamics and the profitability of the industry.
This involves a study of the risk that new competition may penetrate the industry.
Assess the extent to which suppliers can affect prices.
Review the power with which customers can influence price and terms.
Observe the degree of risk that your products or services may be replaced by other products or services.
The intensity of rivalry among existing competitors.
To define competitive threats.
Provides a clear view of the market dynamics.
Help in strategy formulation to maintain a competitive advantage.
Scenario planning is a tool for organizations to anticipate multiple future scenarios. It involves creating fictitious situations and determining their possible effect on the enterprise.
Identify the most crucial uncertainties that could affect the organization.
Develop multiple scenarios based on different outcomes.
Develop contingency plans for each scenario to be completely prepared.
Increases adaptability and resilience.
Encourages long-term thinking.
Anticipates future challenges for the organisation
Such envisioning is a tool of strategic planning towards defining the vast long-term vision for the organisation. As such, it means picturing the best imaginable state of the future and plotting a roadmap for getting there.
Engage with stakeholders to create a common vision.
Identify milestones that constitute progress toward the vision.
Steps of action to form the vision into existence.
The team members as well as other stakeholders will become inspired.
A shared direction in which the organisation should go.
Stimulates innovation and creativity.
The Growth-Share Matrix was formulated by Boston Consulting Group for assessment of the company’s portfolio namely products or services. This basically helps organisations in resource allocations.
High growth, high market share. These are strong performers that require investment to sustain growth.
Low growth, high market share. These generate steady cash flow and require minimal investment.
High growth, low market share. These need strategic decisions to determine their future potential.
Low growth, low market share. These may need to be divested or restructured.
Resource allocation decisions become very simple.
Investment priorities are easily identified.
Offers a visual view of product performance.
To have the capability to take stock of their surroundings and to set and realise objectives in the name of a continued long-term success, a business needs to have strategic planning tools. In this regard, tools such as SWOT, PESTLE, OKRs, and the Growth-Share Matrix can help all organisations to not only cope with a challenge or the many opportunities put forth but also to be able to carry on with competitive advantage. The British Academy for Training and Development offers courses on the best strategic planning tools to enhance your expertise and effectiveness.