Planning Teams and Strategic
Planning
IACT424/924 Corporate Network
Design and Implementation
Outline
The Strategic Network Plan
To Plan…or Not?
The Crouch Diagram
Six Tips for Strategic Planning
Ten Pitfalls of Strategic Planning
Factors in Selecting Strategies
Planning Teams
Who Should Be Involved in Planning?
The Strategic Network Plan
Strategic planning determines



Where an organization is going over the next
year or more
How it's going to get there
How it'll know if it got there or not
Far more important than the strategic plan
document, is the planning process itself
To Plan…or Not?
The most basic question to ask before
starting a strategic planning process is
whether to develop a strategic plan
The question of whether or not to
develop a strategic plan may be based
on answers to the following questions:
To Plan…or Not?
What purpose will the strategic plan serve?
How will it help the organization?
Will it be better than the system we use now?
Are those in leadership positions committed
to strategic planning?
How much will it cost in terms of time and
personnel effort?
To Plan…or Not?
Who should be on the planning team?
Does anyone have experience with strategic
planning?
Do we think we can do it?
Are we willing to make decisions about our
future?
Will we actually use the plan?
What overriding crises would inhibit our
ability to plan?
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
• Vision
• Driving Force
• Mission
Why Are We in Business?
Vision


The future position and value of the organization
(present tense, seven words or less)
The vision statement describes
 desired future structure, size, services, and markets






It is a sketch, not a blueprint
It shows basic features, not specific dimensions. It
is the strategic baseline
It must be challenging and compelling
Effective vision statements capture "the dream“
They are substantive and significant
They make you different
Why Are We in Business?
Mission

The organization and its purpose (one
hundred words or less):
 Who we are
 Who we serve
 What products and services we offer, and
 How we make them available

The mission statement outlines markets,
customers, and competitors
Why Are We in Business?
Mission Statements



Broadly defines business scope and
purpose
Presents "a desired position in a predicted
future world" and represents the "bulls-eye
or target of the strategy" (Yavitz &
Newman, Strategy in Action, 1982)
It sets down customer needs served and
the range of services offered.
Why Are We in Business?
The mission statement answers:



What is our future business?
"A mission statement should not commit a firm to
what it must do in order to survive but what it
chooses to do in order to thrive" (Ackoff,
Management in Small Doses, 1986)
The greatest obstacle is narrow-mindedness,
thinking of the future business as an elaboration of
the present
Why Are We in Business?
Driving Forces










The conditions which "drive" the organization:
Products/services offered
Market focus/needs
Technology
Production capability/capacity
Method of sale
Method of distribution
Natural resources
Size and growth, or
Profit/return on investment
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
• Values
• Climate
• Culture
How Do We Do Business?
Values




The bases on which we want decisions to
be made and actions to be taken
Values are beliefs held by the company
Every organization has them
Values differentiate you from competitors
How Do We Do Business?
The Values Statement



The values statement is a summary of the values
that guide operations and staff
It is the basis for the ethical standards in dealings
with employees, patients or customers, vendors,
competitors, and payers
The values statement addresses corporate
integrity and citizenship, customer benefit, quality,
and employee relationships
How Do We Do Business?
Culture

Traditions, ethics, and other standards
which influence the way things are
accomplished in the organization
Climate

The interpersonal and physical
environments: is the organization a good
place to be and to work?
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats
• Competition
• Constraints
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
• Strategy
Where Do We Want to Be?
Strategies--where we want to be and what
we want to achieve.
Goals and objectives--directly support our
mission.
Goals should be SMART:
S-pecific,
M-easurable,
A-chievable,
R-ealistic, and
T-imely
Where Do We Want to Be?
The Strategy Statement

A strategy is a statement of direction that
serves as a central organizational theme
guiding and coordinating functional actions
A strategy articulates the nature of a
business and its main intentions for the
future
Where Do We Want to Be?
Strategy creates a reference point





It focuses on long-term direction
Is qualitative
Provides guidance for short-term plans
Integrates functional plans into an overall scheme
Is realistic and action oriented, and is understood
at the top and middle levels of the organization
(Yavitz & Newman)
A strategy must be clear and lack subtlety
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
• Tactics
• Resources
How Can We Get There?
Tactics


Specific action plans to implement our strategies
the right people doing the right things at right
time in the right way for the right reasons.
Satisfying our needs (tactics)...






What is the specific goal?
Who will champion it's accomplishment?
When will action start? End?
What tasks are involved?
What resources are needed?
How shall we monitor?
How Can We Get There? The Goals/Objectives Statement
Tactics can be developed as a set of
goals and accompanying objectives
framing what needs to be done
How Can We Get There? The Goals/Objectives Statement
A goal is a written statement describing
a defined action


Goals are broad ends that an organization
works towards on an ongoing basis
Goals are general rather than specific,
qualitative rather than quantitative,
directional rather than measurable, focal
rather than achievable, and continuous
rather than time-limited
How Can We Get There? The Goals/Objectives Statement
An objective is a written statement describing
a specific result, event, or outcome to be
accomplished to work towards a particular
goal


Objectives are discrete aims to be completed in a
preset time frame, they are stated in terms of
"what," "when," and "who."
Objectives are specific rather than general,
quantitative rather than qualitative, measurable
rather than directional, achievable rather than
focal, and time-limited rather than continuous
How Can We Get There?
Goals and objectives are hierarchically
related

A goals/objectives statement takes the
form of several goals (usually three or
more but less than ten) enumerated in
terms of their significance with each goal
related to three to five objectives in the
order to be accomplished.
How Can We Get There?
Goal Setting Process





Consider: vision, mission, environment
Generate goals
Prioritize goals
Determine how to defend selections
Goals show "what" not "how”
How Can We Get There?
Accomplishing our goals...






What is the specific task?
Who will champion it's accomplishment?
When will action start? End?
What activities are involved?
What resources are needed?
How shall we monitor?
How Can We Get There?
Team Process

Teams select three top goals by consensus
 Combine
 Re-Write, or
 Create new goals


Report to the group, defend choices
Begin Action Planning
How Can We Get There?
Resources
There are only five:





People
Property
Time
money, and
Technology (or knowledge)
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
GAP
ANALYSIS
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
Gap Analysis
Strategic planning closes the gap
between where the company is and
where it wants to be
This involves translating strategy into
the realities of organizational structure,
systems, policies, products, and
operations
Gap Analysis
This will be done by getting answers to
such questions as:




What realignments in the organizational
structure are indicated?
What changes are suggested in leadership
style?
What new management skills are
necessary?
What will be the implications for policy?
Gap Analysis
These questions represent "critical issues"
which are " those major changes ,
modifications, additions to the organization's
structure and systems, to its capabilities and
resources, to its information needs and
management that result from setting strategy"
(Tregoe & Zimmerman)
What makes these issues critical is their
functional relationship to the implementation
of the strategy
The Crouch Diagram
Why are we in business?
How do we do business?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
How will we know we’ve arrived?
• Co-Ordination
• Budgets
• Controls
• Reports
• Milestones
The Crouch Diagram
For network design and implementation, I
believe the most important questions are:


Where do we want to be?
How do we get there?
You need information:



SWOT
Constraints
Reports
Six Tips for Strategic Planning
1. Strategic planning is a way of thinking,
an on going process
The plan is never perfect or complete
2. Keep the planning simple and
manageable
3. Involve the organization’s leaders
Don't give away the planning task to support
staff or consultants
Six Tips for Strategic Planning
4. Emphasize creativity, innovation, and
imagination rather than blindly following a set
of planning steps
5. Don't adopt strategies without careful
consideration of how they will be
implemented
6. Strategic planning is not an end in itself
It is a tool to help the organization accomplish its
mission
Ten Pitfalls of Strategic
Planning
1. Planning the future primarily on the
basis of statistical and financial
projections or forecasts
2. Over-nighting a thick packet of forms
to every branch to complete and return
them to the corporate office in 10
business days
Ten Pitfalls of Strategic
Planning
3. Giving strategic planning lip-service,
but not giving time or support
necessary to develop or implement a
credible plan
4. Rolling out a new company-wide, longterm planning process and leaving
incentive packages tied to short-term
results unchanged
Ten Pitfalls of Strategic
Planning
5. Blaming competitors, customers,
payers, regulators, or the sales force for
the poor strategic performance of the
agency or company
6. Investing in training all line managers
in techniques to build an exciting
agency future and then downsizing
Ten Pitfalls of Strategic
Planning
7. Adopting a strategy inherited through
the acquisition of a former rival or
simply imitating a current competitor
8. Starting with a vision or mission that
fails to capture the imagination and
ownership of the grunts in the field
Ten Pitfalls of Strategic
Planning
9. Letting the bean counters in the
business office or in accounting or
finance reduce the future to a series of
monthly bottom lines
10. Trying to step into the future with
both feet planted firmly in past because
of a myopic view of tomorrow as what
we like about today
Four Basic Strategies
Rational
-Empirical
Normative
-Re-educative
Power
-Coercive
People are rational and follow self interest
change based on communication of information and
offering incentives
People are social beings and follow social norms
change based on redefining and reinterpreting existing
norms, & developing commitment to new norms
People are mostly compliant, do as they’re told
change based on the exercise of authority and the
imposition of sanctions
People oppose loss/disruption but adapt readily
Environmental
change based on building a new organisation and
-Adaptive
gradually transferring people to the new one
Factors in Selecting Strategies
There is no single perfect strategy …
please consider:
Degree of Resistance
 Strong: Power-Coercive & Environmental-Adaptive
 Weak: Rational-Empirical & Normative-Re-educative
Target Population
 Large populations need all four strategies in a mix
‘something for everyone’
Factors in Selecting Strategies
The Stakes
 High stakes need all four strategies in a mix
‘nothing left to chance’
The Time Frame
 Short: Power-Coercive
 Longer: Rational-Empirical & Environmental-
Adaptive & Normative-Re-educative
Factors in Selecting Strategies
Expertise
 Mix the strategies according to the expertise of
the Change Agents
Dependency
 If organisation is dependant on its people,
managements ability to lead is limited
 If people are dependant on the organisation,
their ability to resist or oppose is limited
 Mutual dependency requires negotiation
Marketing Strategies
Current
Customers
New Customers
in Related Fields
New Customers
in Unrelated
Fields
New Services
in Unrelated
Fields
STRATEGY VII
PRODUCT/SERVICE
INNOVATION
High Investment
Low Return
High Risk
STRATEGY VIII
High Investment
Moderate Return
High Risk
STRATEGY IX
STARTUP
OPERATION
High Investment
High Return
Very High Risk
New Services
in Related
Fields
STRATEGY IV
PRODUCT/SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT
Moderate Investment
Low Return
Low Risk
STRATEGY V
DIVERSIFICATION
Moderate Investment
Moderate Return
Moderate Risk
STRATEGY VI
Moderate Investment
High Return
High Risk
Current
Services
STRATEGY I
MARKET
PENETRATION
Low Investment
Low Return
Very Low Risk
STRATEGY II
MARKET
DEVELOPMENT
Low Investment
Moderate Return
Low Risk
STRATEGY III
MARKET
INNOVATION
Low Investment
High Return
High Risk
Planning Teams
The planning design frequently calls for a
small team to direct efforts and develop the
written document

Input should come from the entire organization so
that each member has a stake in the process and
outcome
Team members should



Work well together
Be committed to the process
Be respected by their peers
Planning Teams
Team Leader


Should understand planning well enough to
help others through the process
If this is a first-time experience for
everyone involved, out side expertise may
be useful to provide an initial orientation or
a jump start
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
Establish clear guidelines for
membership, for example





Those directly involved in planning
Those who will provide key information to
the process
Those who will review the plan document
Those who will authorize the document
Etc
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
The chief executive and board chair
should be included in the planning
group

Should drive development and
implementation of the plan
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
A primary responsibility of a board of
directors is strategic planning to
effectively lead the organization


Therefore, insist that the board be strongly
involved in planning
Including assigning a planning committee
(often, the same as the executive
committee)
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
Always include in the group, at least
one person who ultimately has authority
to make strategic decisions
Ensure that as many stakeholders as
possible are involved in the planning
process
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
Involve at least those who are responsible for
composing and implementing the plan
Involve someone to administrate the process,
including




Arranging meetings
Helping to record key information
Helping with flipcharts
Monitoring status of prework, etc
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
Phases in Team membership
Strong board involvement in
determining the organization’s strategic
direction



Mission
Vision
Values
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
Then more staff involvement in
determining the organization’s strategic
analysis to determine its current issues
and goals
Then primarily the staff to determine the
strategies needed to address the issues
and meet the goals
Who Should Be Involved in
Planning?
In general, where there's any doubt
about whether a certain someone
should be involved in planning, it's best
to involve them