We all know that the strategic planning process is critical to business success, but it’s an undertaking that can often be derailed by misunderstandings and unrealistic goals. Effective strategic planning enables your organization to define where it is going first, followed by practical steps of how to get there. The key is knowing how to hone in on the aspects that are key to the true nature of the business, rather than getting muddled by the assumptions of the individuals.

Communication can be one of the biggest challenges in strategic planning endeavors, resulting in organizations falling short of their goals without really knowing why. Even when teams have been working together for years, it can be difficult to get everyone on the same page for new and large projects. Introducing a strategic planning consultant can do wonders for achieving your objectives; it can also allow the communication skills of your whole team to reach new levels while aligning those ideas and discussions along a single, collective path.

Strategic Planning is the Key to Success

Companies work with strategic partners or planners to leverage the skills and expertise of one in order to maximize the reach of the other, for mutual benefit. While strategic partnerships can be useful, the more active role of a strategic planner or consultant provides more involved leadership and business guidance, participating in business development, project management, event organization, people management, and anything else that is needed.

This in-depth involvement goes into the inner workings of your business, setting clear directions based on accurate assessments of where your business is and where it could go. And because a strategic planner can perceive the business from an outsider’s perspective with a bird’s eye view they are able to provide a much-needed, fresh point of view. It is an unbiased appraisal that gives insight into areas of potential improvement and points out possible issues that ever present decision-makers are unaware of.

Facilitating Communication

According to the insights of Forbes, “the vast majority of CEOs (92%), communicators (92%) and strategists (88%) say communications is critical to the success of their strategic initiatives and nearly half of respondents (46%) report that communications is an integral and active component of the strategic planning and execution process.” It’s how decision-makers can both track their progress and know they are working together successfully.

The best strategic plans incorporate the whole of a company rather than providing direction for just a few departments, so communication and consideration of feedback are crucial. And it’s not enough to share information; there must be a two-way stream of communication open and receptive to integrating the many voices into your strategies.

When multiple minds are working towards those best solutions, miscommunication is inevitable. The best way to address areas of possible conflict or miscommunication is quickly. If you know to expect insufficient communication, you can also put in place practices from the very beginning that attempt to circumvent missed connections altogether:

• Establish a foundation of communal understanding and build from there. Don’t be afraid to get to the basics of company goals and missions, even if they are aspects that most everyone takes for granted. Confirm the essentials of your planning before continuing on to make sure everyone is on board at the beginning and save time correcting assumptions later on.
• Consider management system standards. An ISO certification is one path to streamlined communication, when a single system establishes a common infrastructure which participants can work from together. Updates are frequent and everyone is on the same page with the same version of the plan in front of them at all times.
• Confirm meetings and stay on a schedule. Control how your planning team will be meeting, via conference calls, Skype, video chats, or by using a messaging system to talk, and set up protocols for clarification in your leadership. By keeping everyone on an expected routine you will maintain regularity in your proceedings and stay on task.
• Have a timeline. All this also comes down to strategically planning based on a timeline, with scheduled check-ins for projects, safeguards to help participants stay focused, and a system of confirmations so nobody is out of the loop.

Once you have worked to institute practices that improve communication and create an environment where stellar communication can take place, these same skills will only improve your ability to scale. What works on a grand level of company-wide strategic planning will also come into play with department projects and even one-on-one. Remind your teams how successfully they were able to work by utilizing these skills and see how they will result in both internal and external growth.

If your company is interested in taking its strategic planning initiatives to the next level, make time to connect with us and see how our services can support you through that process.