Strategic Planning... What's the Value?

Many organizations invest significant resources in formal, annual strategic-planning processes — and then see little benefit from the investment. In research conducted by Sarah Kaplan and Eric Beinhocker of MIT Sloan and McKinsey Consulting, one manager compared his company's process with a "primitive tribal ritual," and another said "We pretend to make strategy and then pretend to follow it."

So why do it?

Planning can create a critical advantage for organizations when approached with the goal of creating "prepared minds."

Like so many tools and methods used for leading, organizations, the greatest value of strategic planning is realized from what has been learned. A strategic plan allows organizations and their stakeholders to move together in the same direction by understanding priorities and what processes, structures and talents will benefit from further development.

Surprisingly, Kaplan and Beinhocker found that the most valuable parts of the formal planning process come from a host of seemingly mundane aspects of facilitation and meeting design that turn out to be critical details that are at the heart of many organizational processes -- including who should attend, where should it be held, how much time should be spent and what kind of preparation is necessary to make the process effective.

A right place to begin any planning exercise is on creating a foundation for group alignment. The outcome of such processes, if used consistently throughout the execution cycle, provides a stable platform on which the strategy and its execution can depend. Planning to plan, so to speak, helps an organization's leadership make solidly grounded, real-time strategic decisions in a world of turbulence and uncertainty.

For more about strategic planning, download Re-thinking Strategy & Planning.pdf