The Roadmap for Strategic Planning Across the Enterprise

Analyst Viewpoint

Strategic planning has always been difficult. But it is even more so in this age of rapid digital transformation, which frequently introduces disruptive changes. What’s needed, ironically, is a methodical approach to how an organization manages strategic planning to allow for beneficial disruption, balancing finance and operations, engaging existing expertise and factoring in technology to ensure that new initiatives can be strategically aligned to the goals and aspirations of the organization.

Strategic planning for digital transformation requires the ability to prioritize innovation and investments to benefit customer and product experiences.

Strategic planning translates organizational initiatives into the specific programs and outcomes that organizations need to ensure they maintain or perhaps improve their performance and competitiveness. The best strategic planning thus is not only focused on strategic objectives but is continuous, enabling the organization to dynamically compare how it’s currently performing to its plans and rapidly adapt the plans. In a business environment where digital transformation must occur at a rapid pace, organizations need to be more agile and methodical in how they plan and operate and also how they leverage their people and expertise. Strategic planning for digital transformation requires the ability to prioritize innovation and investments to benefit the customer and product experiences that are part of every organization’s strategic intent.

Many organizations say they do strategic planning; few actually have adapted their business to use it effectively. Traditionally an organization would develop strategic plans, set corporate objectives and goals for what needs to be achieved, create appropriate projects and then wait for improved outcomes. It’s usually a step-wise process with the steps from strategy and plans to initiatives and programs only loosely coupled and managed, which is a description of a path to expected outcomes that’s less than optimal. For most organizations the strategic plan is defined in presentations, documents and spreadsheets that are neither connected nor managed to ensure that employee access as needed and that goals and objectives are linked and measured. This less-than-optimal environment will not establish confidence in strategic planning, which should operate continuously and seamlessly. Strategic planning requires purpose-designed technology that can support this specific set of requirements.

To gain the most value from the organization’s insight into its own needs and future path, strategic planning and operations must be tightly coupled and managed, requiring techniques such as scenario planning, dynamic feedback and road mapping across the organization. This means involving both business and IT — all the places in the organization where, directly or indirectly, decisions on plans are actually made. This can help ensure that all levels of management operate from a common plan and with a shared expectation of what’s possible.

Effective strategic planning, in addition to agility, needs financial support and leadership. Funding and financial investments must be available and directable to match the planning. And leadership must be enlightened, fact-based and agile as well. And here, as in so many aspects of business, no one person is as smart as the collective business management — dynamic ongoing collaboration is critical to drive the planning to optimal results. A roadmap for the continuous optimization of strategic planning can help organizations identify their level of readiness and effectiveness.

So, I’m often asked, how do you get started with strategic planning? The first step is to assess with a critical eye your current approach to this essential business process. How well has it worked, as reflected both in operational changes in the organization and in the performance metrics? More to the point, where has it failed? In what areas have you not been able to continuously plan and have failed to adapt to changes in the business or markets? With these insights in hand, you can then identify process gaps and determine where cycle times or management oversight may not be ideal. This gap analysis can help you identify areas for improvement and, more importantly, where better priorities and funding — and perhaps more useful and effective technology — will help you develop a more unified and continuous approach.

It’s critical to engage leadership in the evolution of the organization’s strategic planning — this is a digital transformation process that requires agility and confidence and so responsibility must fall to those who lead the organization. To develop and execute on strategy expeditiously requires planning software that can support these processes. Every enterprise should manage its strategic plans and portfolios of programs in a way that provides not only a return on the financial investment but business value and outcomes that are visible and managed with a common approach. Your organization can reach its full potential with a common framework that will enable you to optimize your strategy and plans as well as motivate and engage your workforce. What’s required is a business case that prioritizes the use of dedicated applications for strategic planning as well as the ability to apply iterative funding to ensure continuous improvement.