Strategic planning is a time-consuming effort that’s fraught with stumbling blocks and barriers. As a result, organizations can quickly become obsessed with simply getting through it. In doing so, they miss tremendous opportunities to create energy and excitement, not to mention a genuine plan for growth.

Like any business initiative, a strategic planning process must be carefully managed. While there is no one right way to plan, there is always room for improvement. Adopting best-practice process elements can help ensure success – and two of the best practices are (1) defining the long-term issues up front and (2) involving all the right people in the process.

Issues first, numbers second

Better strategic planning begins with a better understanding of long-term issues. Many companies mistakenly drive strategy based on spreadsheets, budgets, and yearly financials. They make long-range plans rooted in current realities, not grounded in future ones.

Consequently, they ignore the market and fail to recognize the potential business impacts of changing customer wants and needs, competitive moves, and the overall market environment – all sources for authentic strategy.

The more effectively an organization can focus on the issues, the greater the chances for planning success. Conducting the proper customer research and environmental scanning, collecting competitive intelligence, and laying out a strong SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) are all integral to creating a realistic view of the future. Integrating the numbers will become more meaningful when the underlying focus is on future issues and strategic opportunities.

The people perspective

It matters who an organization brings to the table during the strategic planning process. There simply cannot be an informed debate without the involvement of the leaders, decision-makers, and subject matter experts who are most knowledgable about the issues and responsible for implementing the strategy.

Including all the relevant internal participants and encouraging open discourse is crucial to getting an honest perspective and better overall planning. So, too, is the need to obtain external insights. Outside stakeholders should be encouraged to weigh in on the discussion, and outside experts should be considered for generating new insights and putting information into perspective.

Involvement from the right people at the outset not only results in a better plan, it also results in better plan implementation. When the rationale for the strategic plan is understood and accepted by those developing it, the plan will be more effectively executed in ideas and actions.

Improve the process to improve the plan

Successful strategic planning requires a structured approach for identifying and anticipating external issues so as to respond to and exploit future developments. By ensuring that budgets follow the plan rather than drive it, and by bringing key people together for candid conversations about what those external issues will be, organizations can make strategic planning a true driver of success.