Strategic Planning does not have to be painful, but it does require discipline and a well-understood process. Acteum has revised and re-released its popular “Very Brief Guide To Strategic Planning“which we first released in 2005.

The guide outlines a simple methodology to guide a Board or management committee in creating a strategic plan for its management team to implement.

For planning to be effective, we have found that the process itself needs to be well understood by all those involved before the planning starts, so that each element of the plan is developed with the focused engagement of all those involved. We don’t want to be arguing over the process of planning while “doing the planning”. As usual, an experienced facilitator improves the  breadth and quality of the discussion; nevertheless a vocal participant who doesn’t understand what’s going on can completely derail the process.

We strongly suggest that a workshop on the process be held before the first strategic planning meeting. Every participant should attend, as should those who will be made responsible for implementing the plan.

Our guide should be used to discuss the process and to adjust it to suit the participants in the Strategic Planning process.

The VERY brief guide to Strategic Planning