Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

by Erica Olsen
Released November 2011
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781118077771

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Book description

Think and act strategically every time

In today's business environment, strategic planning stresses the importance of making decisions that will ensure an organization's ability to successfully respond to changes in the environment and plan for sustainable viability. Providing practical, field-tested techniques and a complete 6-phase plan, Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies shows you how to make strategy a habit for all organizations, no matter the size, type, or resource constraints.

Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies is for companies of all types and sizes looking to build and sustain a competitive edge, set up an ongoing process for market assessment and trend analysis, and develop a vision for future growth. This revised edition includes: new and updated content on planning for both the short and the long-term; crucial information on succession planning; help preparing for the unexpected using scenario planning and agile strategy; strategies for implementing change and integrating strategic plans successfully by involving all staff members; and more.

  • The supplementary CD lays out a comprehensive, 6-phase, step-by-step program, complete with downloadable spreadsheets, charts, checklists, video links, and more

  • Provides value for any business or entrepreneur looking to improve efficiency, focus, and competitive edge

  • Includes practical, field-tested techniques

Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies gives today's business owners and upper-level management the tools and information they need to think and act strategically in order to more effectively weather current economic storms while planning for future growth.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. About the Author
  5. Dedication
  6. Author's Acknowledgments
  7. Publisher's Acknowledgments
  8. Contents at a Glance
  9. Table of Contents
  10. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Conventions Used in This Book
    3. What You're Not to Read
    4. Foolish Assumptions
    5. How This Book Is Organized
    6. Icons Used in This Book
    7. Where to Go from Here
  11. Part I: Kicking Off Your Strategic Planning Process
    1. Chapter 1: What Is Strategic Planning Really?
      1. Clearing Up the Confusion about Strategic Planning
      2. Identifying the Levels of Strategic Management
      3. Getting Acquainted with the Strategic Plan's Key Elements
      4. Seeing the Signs: Why You Need This Book
    2. Chapter 2: Why Strategic Planning Works
      1. Strategic Planning Is Most Used Tool by Executives
      2. Not Having a Plan Is Too Risky
      3. A Plan Is Required to be a High Performer
      4. Everyday Decisions Drive Long-Term Results
      5. Agility Is a New Competitive Advantage
      6. Everyone Is Part of Something Bigger
      7. Tribal Knowledge Is Passed on to the Next Generation
      8. You Can Clearly Explain (and Remember) Your Strategy
      9. A Strategic Plan Eliminates Wasted Time and Money
    3. Chapter 3: Getting Set Up for Successful Planning
      1. Previewing the Elements of a Strategic Plan
      2. Before You Begin: Assessing Your Planning Readiness
      3. Taking a Look at the Strategic Planning Process and Time Frame
      4. Selecting Your Planning Team
      5. Going It Alone or Hiring a Facilitator
      6. Smoothing Out Your Process
  12. Part II: Determining Your Core DNA and Envisioned Future
    1. Chapter 4: Identifying Your Strategic Issues
      1. Reviewing What Happened Last Year
      2. Evaluating Your Products and Services
      3. Putting Your Portfolio Together (In the Market Attractiveness Framework)
      4. Looking at Your Financial Performance
      5. Seeing the Underlying Forces of Your Industry
      6. Creating Your Short List of Strategic Issues
    2. Chapter 5: Focusing on What You Do Best
      1. Appreciating Your Competitive Advantage
      2. Uncovering Your Advantages
      3. Pinpointing Your Competitive Advantage
      4. Using Your Advantages Now
    3. Chapter 6: Developing Your Mission, Values, and Vision
      1. Building Your Strategic Foundation
      2. Assessing Your Mission
      3. Fine-tuning Your Organizational Values
      4. Visioning: Focusing in on Your North Star
      5. Futurecasting: Looking to the Future
      6. Finalizing Your Strategic Foundation
  13. Part III: Sizing Up Your Current Situation
    1. Chapter 7: Assessing Your Business and Its Capabilities
      1. Establishing a Starting Point: Identifying Your Business's Strategic Position
      2. Evaluating Your Company's Capabilities
      3. Examining Your Resources
      4. Processes: Connecting Your Capabilities and Resources
      5. Checking Your Profit Margins
    2. Chapter 8: Seeing Your Business through Your Customers' Eyes
      1. Getting to Know Your Most Valuable Customers
      2. Determining Why Your Customers Are Your Customers
      3. Focusing on How You Deliver Value to Your Customers
    3. Chapter 9: Researching the Market to Find New Customers
      1. Gathering Information about New Markets
      2. Creating Your Target Markets
      3. Focusing on the Most Attractive Markets
      4. Standing Out from the Crowd: Your Positioning Statement
      5. Reaching Your New Target Markets
      6. Staying Market-Focused
      7. Putting It All Together: Organizing Customer Information
    4. Chapter 10: Identifying Your Opportunities and Threats
      1. Starting Your SWOT Analysis
      2. Seeing the Future
      3. Finding Opportunities in Your Operating Environment
      4. Tracking Your Industry
      5. Analyzing Your Competition
      6. Evaluating Your Market
      7. Summarizing Your Opportunities and Threats
      8. Finishing Your SWOT Analysis
  14. Part IV: Mapping Your Organization's Path to the Future
    1. Chapter 11: Strategizing for Growth and Sustainability
      1. Understanding the Difference between Strategy and Tactics
      2. Business Unit Level Strategies: Choosing Your Leading Strategic Focus
      3. Market Level Strategies: Strategizing How to Grow
      4. Summarizing Your Selected Strategies
    2. Chapter 12: Establishing Your Strategic Objectives, Goals, and Actions
      1. Firming Up Your List of Strategic Alternatives
      2. Evolving Alternatives into Priorities
      3. Balancing Your Strategic Priorities
      4. Turning Strategic Priorities into a Road Map for Your Vision
      5. Assembling Your Strategic Plan
      6. Evaluating Your Strategic Plan
    3. Chapter 13: Putting Your Plan into Action
      1. Managing Performance with a Scorecard
      2. Cascading Goals to Annual Action Plans
      3. Ensuring Your Plan Makes Cents
      4. Making Your Plan a Living Document
  15. Part V: Living and Breathing Your Plan
    1. Chapter 14: Execute, Execute, Execute: Putting Your Plan to Work
      1. So You Have a Plan — Now What?
      2. Holding People (Including Yourself) Accountable to the Process
      3. Heartbeat of Your Management Process: Strategy Reviews
      4. Mastering the Art of Communicating Strategy
      5. Keeping Your Plan Working for You
    2. Chapter 15: Scenario Planning: Answering the What Ifs
      1. Grasping the Concept: What Is Scenario Planning?
      2. Tackling Your Short-Term Uncertainties
      3. Confronting Your Longer-Term Futures
      4. Considering Example Scenarios
    3. Chapter 16: Value-Creating Strategies for Entrepreneurial Organizations
      1. Establishing an Owner's Vision
      2. Creating a Sellable Business
      3. Ensuring Your Business Continues after You Leave
    4. Chapter 17: Sustainability for the Social Sectors
      1. Moving from Profit to Sustainability
      2. Getting Your Board on Board the Planning Effort
      3. Planning for Government Entities
      4. Planning for Nonprofit Organizations
  16. Part VI: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 18: Ten Tips to Keep Your Strategic Plan from Hitting the Shelf
      1. Getting Everyone Involved from the Start
      2. Deleting the Fluff
      3. Appointing a Strategy Manager
      4. Creating a Strategic Plan Poster (Real and Virtual)
      5. Hooking Achievement into Incentives
      6. Using a KISS
      7. Holding a Monthly Strategy Meeting
      8. Using a Scorecard
      9. Leading by Example
      10. Celebrating Your Success — Whenever You Feel Like It
    2. Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Ruin Your Strategy Meetings and How to Avoid Them
      1. Refusing to Use a Facilitator
      2. Neglecting to Conduct Any Research Before the Meeting
      3. Inviting Everyone
      4. Holding an Annual Retreat
      5. Getting through the Agenda No Matter What
      6. Forgetting to Explain the Process
      7. Assuming Everyone Thinks Like You
      8. Ignoring the Elephant in the Room
      9. Ending on a Low Note
      10. Overlooking Life after the Meeting
    3. Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Maintain Momentum in Your Planning Process (And Life)
      1. Create Your Picture of Success and Make It a Reality
      2. Pick a BHAG
      3. Eliminate Your Energy Drains and Recharge Yourself
      4. Conquer Your Fears — Concentrate and Be Brave
      5. Take Control of Your Finances
      6. Create a Brain Trust
      7. Find the Time
      8. Highlight Small Wins
      9. Let the Process Evolve
      10. Be Committed
  17. Appendix: About the CD
    1. System Requirements
    2. Using the CD
    3. What You'll Find on the CD
    4. Troubleshooting
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Erica Olsen
  • Release date: November 2011
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781118077771