Towson University’s Outreach Blog

Susan

What do you think of when you hear the following phrases?

• Participating in team building exercises
• Listening to all players on the team
• Developing smart plays
• Becoming leaders on and off the field
• Committing to being number 1

Sure, these are potential phrases that John Harbaugh may use during the Raven’s upcoming bye week.  These words, however, are also key phrases that help describe how RESI Information System Solutions (ISS) is helping their clients develop winning strategic plans.

What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is a process that helps an organization prepare for the future.  A strategic plan fulfills this task by encouraging members to first look at their current vision; a mission statement is a good place to start.  Once members have a good understanding of the organization’s vision, they can begin to create divisional and departmental goals to include in the strategic plan.  Furthermore, a strategic plan takes the organization’s strengths and weaknesses into account.   By basing a strategic plan on the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, members are able to choose the best strategies and allocate the appropriate resources to reach their future goals within a designated timeframe. Usually the timeframe for a strategic plan is 3-5 years.

Why is strategic planning important?

Strategic planning is important because the process enables all members of an organization to work together to achieve a common goal.  Everyone is involved in developing the plan–from staff to upper management.  Since everyone is involved, strategic planning allows an organization to determine the best course of action for the future.  Members are also able to discuss how to effectively allocate the appropriate resources (whether it’s people, money, equipment, or facilities).  Allocating the appropriate resources is crucial, especially during tough economic times.

from Flickr EOS Boy

For all you sports fans out there, compare a strategic plan to a team’s game plan.  The Baltimore Ravens, or any football team for that matter, do not enter a season without the common goal of winning the Super Bowl.

To achieve this goal, the team must develop well-defined game plans.  Likewise, organizations should not conduct business without developing a strategic plan.

It is essential for members of an organization to work together as a team to develop smart plays that will result in a successful business.  In addition, all members need to know their role and play their part in executing the plan.  Execution is vital for achieving success; just ask any Ravens’ fan.  After all, a team can have the best players, and a coach can develop the perfect game plan; however, everyone needs to be on board for the game plan to be executed effectively.  This same philosophy applies to an organization: everyone must be 100% committed to the strategic plan.  When they are, the outcome will surely be victorious (just in the form of a successful business as opposed to a Super Bowl ring).

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 2:15 pm and is filed under Business Analysis, Project Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.