Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Before You Begin: Assessing Your Planning Readiness

If you're embarking on this strategic planning journey for the first time, assessing whether you're ready before you start is wise. Successful strategic planning and implementation require a keen understanding of how well your organization can adapt to this new process. Introducing it at the right time is key to successful adoption.

Are we ready?

This point in your planning is where being brutally honest with yourself is critical. Companies that jump in to planning because they assume they're ready will likely fail somewhere mid-plan and derail the whole process.

You can avoid getting in over your head by honestly answering the questions in the Readiness Assessment on the CD. Review these key areas to assess your readiness.

Ideally, you want to answer all the questions with a yes. But that may not be possible. In my opinion, having a burning platform, or a reason, to get strategic is important. Typical reasons include wanting to grow, trying to manage uncontrolled growth, or addressing the need for cost containment. If your organization doesn't have a reason to plan, strategic planning isn't going to be very effective. At the end of the assessment, decide whether strategic planning is a go or no-go. If your decision is a no-go, make a quick action plan to solve the problem where you determined your company isn't ready. If your ...