The Executive Suite: How to Write an Action Plan for Strategic Planning

Sunday, October 20, 2013

How to Write an Action Plan for Strategic Planning

Setting a strategic plan in process can harness the enthusiasm and ideas to improve operations and overall corporate productivity. Setting out an action plan can instill a sense of ownership at a deep level of the company. Have all participants understand the purpose of the plan to keep morale high. Use the action plan as a way to achieve corporate goals and objectives.

Suggestions

Select what elements of the company will get the attention of the strategic plan: the mission and values statement, operations, marketing, or employee morale. Write a one-page to two-page summary describing how the action plan will aid in forming the strategic plan and state what the strategic planning process should accomplish.
Make strategy sessions part of a regular meeting agenda and commit to evaluating the strategic plan once it's written. Follow the advice of Robert Kaplan, professor at Harvard Business School, that "The senior management team needs to have regular, probably monthly, meetings that focus only on strategy."
Assign actions and the personnel to follow through on strategy goals, such as crafting the strategic plan. "Always specify who is responsible for doing what and when," writes business author Constance Gutske in the article "Guide to Creating a Small-Business Strategic Plan." "Within the first 90 days, hold regular reviews, so that team members know what is expected of them. Designate point-persons who measure the strategic plan every quarter for its success along the way."
Create small working teams to craft specific parts of a strategic plan in companies with multiple employees or stakeholders. Appoint a facilitator who will follow-up with each group on their assignments. Direct the facilitator to list the teams and their specific, assigned steps.
Instruct the teams to list facts such as industry trends, assumptions each individual team member makes, or assumptions that top executives or directors make. Write how these facts and assumptions may impact the strategic planning process. Have the teams make recommendations for goals and objectives needed to reach specific goals, whether for operations, production, marketing, or sales.
Gather the documents. Summarize the purpose for the process on one page, the action steps that will be taken, and the individuals or smaller teams that are responsible. Set an initial deadline to gather participants and begin the strategic planning process.

Tips

Reward innovation that occurs as a result of the strategic plan.
Tone down unrealistic plans and ideas.
Do not let the company life fall back into the original frame of mind, to avoid cynicism and low morale.