Strategic planning is a road map for the future that businesses and their leadership rely on to develop short-term, long-term, and contingency plans. This time of year offers leaders a chance to review their planning process and make necessary adjustments in order to be in alignment with the trajectory of their strategy. Companies may need to shift their focus and their plan in order to remain on track with their objectives and to avoid short-term crisis management decisions.

While the fundamental mission and vision of the organization should not have changed in relation to the strategic plan, critical tactical activities, staffing and course corrections in technology and workflow are necessary now more than ever in a rapidly changing environment. Sales strategies may need to be tweaked and revisited to account for client needs, supplier shortages, and projected changes or difficulties in distribution. E-commerce may need a revamped to increase sales that had once been stronger through traditional retail sales channels.

Now is the time to dust off and review your company’s strategic plan. A mid-year review provides insight into business operations that may have changed since the start of the year. Be flexible in your thinking, planning and execution. You want to prevent stagnant growth and the inability to sustain. According to an article in Forbes, “The strategic planning process’s greatest value may be in identifying uncertainties and options even more than laying out a fixed path for the future.”

Steps to Revisiting the Strategic Plan

While many aspects of the strategic plan may no longer make sense, it’s important for leaders to review the goals originally set. Use the original strategic plan as a baseline to compare and analyze it the information with current data and analytics. You should be able to pivot where needed and put new plans in place.

The SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) will provide a realistic picture of the status of the current plan and where it may need to be changed.

Strengths: What advantage does your business have in the current environment that your competitors may not or they can’t easily obtain? Is it product? Talent? Or perhaps technology that your company has access to that gives your business a needed benefit.

Weaknesses: The opposite of that is what your business may be lacking that your competition may have in their corner.

Opportunities: Especially in this current pandemic climate, what opportunities can the business pursue right now that could generate future business?

Threats: What are the things the company is or isn’t doing that could get in the way of future success?

However one chooses to assess, the primary objective for the strategic plan is to identify future successes. It serves as a reminder that success does not just happen. It takes planning, investment of time, and the ability to remain adaptable during times of change and upheaval.

If your business is needs a mid-year assessment or you are currently without a strategic plan, Contact Us. Our HR Consultants can work with you to provide the framework and the training to (re)establish your strategic plan and set the course for the future.