Saturday, July 6, 2013

How Organizations Can Benefit From Effective Strategic Planning Missoula

By Claudette Lambert


Strategic planning is important to all organizations, big and small, non-profit or for-profit. Its importance is especially seen in providing a direction that a firm ought to follow, as well as outlining measurable goals. There are clear guidelines on the daily management of the company. Another important component of strategic planning Missoula folks ought to take note of is the evaluation of progress. The goals that have been outlined must be backed up with benchmarks that are well-researched and quantifiable. These benchmarks will be used in evaluation.

Also, the plan establishes the intended outcomes and more importantly, provides tools of assessment which may be necessary in adjusting the direction of the organization with respect to the changing environment. Strategic planning produces important actions and decisions which are then able to shape what the company is, its purpose, the things it does as well as why id does those things. When this plan is implemented successfully, not only is the organization able to articulate where it is going, but is also has mechanisms to held it determine whether it is successful.

A mission should not be too broad or too narrow. Setting a mission such as To Help Humanity may appear too general even if the organization is a non-profit one. A good mission may be to Feed the Hungry people by connecting farmers with food banks. Although the mission statement appears to be general, it is quite an actionable one.

After formulating a mission, you can then go on and set the goals that help you towards it. With measurable goals, you will be able to set concrete and specific objectives which are expressed in terms of timelines and quantities. The importance of measurable goals to any organization is that they make it possible for both employees and their managers to evaluate the pace of development as well as progress.

If, for instance, your goal is to Achieve a substantial growth in the next few years, then know that this goal is not a measurable one. The quantity and timeline aspects are missing in such a goal. It ought to be something like To increase sales by 25% during the upcoming year. This is more concrete, and has the time frame element as well as by what quantity (25%).

To know where you are headed with the plan, an evaluation mechanism must be put in place. At the end of set time, it is important to see if the target was achieved. The importance of evaluation is that it helps in identifying the new hurdles to your goals, and also redefines new objectives in light of these recent developments.

With the sales increase example, a development such as a new competitor opening a business next to yours may not help your business achieve its goals. You may have to sit down with your team and see how best to counter this onslaught but still achieve your goals. Also, it may force you to have a new goal taking your competitor into account. Your new target may be to hold onto a specific percentage of the market share.

To tell whether there was a success with a given plan, there has to be evaluation. Performance is evaluated here, and there is also refinement of other things like data reporting, culture, communication as well other management issues. These are the main steps of strategic planning Missoula folks should know.




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