Time is Money: The 3 Different Approaches to Strategic Planning

“The marvelous thing about lack of planning is that failure comes as a complete and utter surprise.”

– Peter Green

One of the biggest challenges organizations face is making the commitment to develop a well thought out strategic plan. “Are you kidding me!” they’ll say. “Who has the time do a strategic plan with so much work to do?” Instead they wander into the work place and react to crises. And ironically, most crises are a result of their failure to plan! So why don’t more organizations engage in strategic planning? Lack of time is one reason. Another may be confusion over the strategic planning process itself.

Even if your business commits the time to develop a strategic plan, you may be unaware that there are different approaches to Strategic Planning. Depending on the size of your organization and the desired outcomes for the planning process, there is a strategic planning process that is right for you.

“Strategic planning is the strategic thinking process whose outcome is clarifying the purpose of the business, where the business wants to be in the future and the choices the business will make to get there.”

– Najera Consulting

First off, what exactly is Strategic Planning? While there are countless definitions as to what strategic planning is, Najera Consulting defines strategic planning as the strategic thinking process whose outcome is clarifying the purpose of the business, where the business wants to be in the future and the choices the business will make to get there.

The following are the 3 most common approaches for Strategic Planning, ranked in order from least to most strategic:

Goals focused
Issues focused
Systems focused

Goals Focused Approach to Strategic Planning

This approach is the most common form of strategic planning. It is also the least strategic of the three common approaches to business planning. This approach calls for a heavy emphasis on establishing clear business goals. Action plans are then developed to achieve these goals.

A Goals Focused Approach is Right for You, if….

You are confident on how your business creates, delivers and captures value.
You are confident that you can identify goals into the future.
Your business has very limited resources in terms of people, time and money to devote to a more comprehensive strategic planning process.
You have established clear mission, vision and values statements that are understood by your entire business team.
There are very few, if any, critical issues facing your business.
The internal and external environment of your business is somewhat stable.
Decisions are made often in a top-down, hierarchical fashion.
Your business has successfully implemented a strategic plan within the last two years.

Issues Focused Approach to Strategic Planning

This approach is sometimes referred to as Critical Issues Planning and is somewhat more strategic than the Goals Focused Approach. This approach places a heavy emphasis on a situational analysis of the business. It then moves on to identifying issues impacting the business. Action plans are then developed to address said issues. The organization’s mission, vision and values might be developed afterwards, however it’s not the main focus of this planning process. Future business goals and strategies may be established, but only after issues are identified and addressed.

A Issues Focused Approach is Right for You, if….

You are confident on how your business creates, delivers and captures value.
Your business faces several critical issues that need further clarity.
Your business has very limited resources in terms of people, time and money to devote to a more comprehensive strategic planning process.
You expect or foresee major changes in the internal and/or external environment of your business sector over the next year or so.
Your management team struggles to identify and reach consensus on key issues and clear goals for the future.

Systems Focused Approach to Strategic Planning

This is the most strategic and comprehensive form of Strategic Planning. It is also the approach most used by our clients. This is a non-linear, organic, iterative, intuitive approach to strategic planning that is best suited to entrepreneurial minded organizations. The value of this approach is that it provides the business a big-picture perspective cause and effect relationship of its business model. In this approach an equal emphasis is placed on the business’s mission, business model, situational analysis, current and potential customer base and the business’s core value proposition. The resulting strategies are viewed as the highest-level organizing principles for the business.

A Systems Focused Approach is Right for You, if….

You would like clarity on how your business creates, delivers and captures value.
You would like more clarity on your mission, vision, and values statements before attempting to make major decisions impacting the financial future of your business.
You have struggle conform to any type of strategic planning process.
You are unsure of your desired competitive position and/or social impact.
The external environment of your business is constantly changing.
Decisions are made often in a bottoms-up, organic fashion.
You have struggled in the past to adhere to any type of business planning process.
Your business has never before developed and implemented a complete strategic planning process.

Some of us may think we’re too tight on time and money to start on any course of strategic planning. But according to The Law of Planning by Brain Tracy, every minute spent in planning saves ten minutes in execution. And if you believe in the saying that “time is money,” according to my calculations this is a 1,000 percent Return on Investment! Who can pass this up?

Strategic Planning Anyone?

About the Author:
Gabriel Najera is the president & founder of the Najera Consulting Group. Gabriel is a frequent speaker to organizations. And, is a highly sought after advisor to corporate and nonprofit executives looking to develop a strategic thinking mindset.

Gabriel is the author of the forthcoming book, Lessons From the Field: From Farmworker to Fortune 500 Consultant. Gabriel is available to speak to your organization. To inquire about scheduling Gabriel for an upcoming speaking engagement or to inquire about our consulting services, please click on this link.