Strategic Planning Tools

The elements of a good strategic plan are the same for almost any business. How owners and managers arrive at those elements can differ. 

Here are some links that will help you decide how to go about creating a strategic plan that works for you and your company:

SmallBusinessChron.comcovers SWOT Analyses, Mind Mapping, and more in their article "Four Tools Used in Strategic Planning for Marketing and Sales." 

There are many ways to analyze in addition to completing a SWOT Analysis.This article fromReferenceforBusiness.comgoes into detail about some of the other types. If matrices and charting are helpful for your thinking, be sure to check these out! 

The Research Administration Performance Improvement and Development (RAPID) Department at the University of Washington has compileda list of tools and templates to help in strategic planning. It's an excellent list, with some helpful graphics. 

Value Driver #2: Strategic Planning

This is the second installment in a series we are sharing about value drivers -- the things that make businesses more valuable. If you missed the first installment, you can find it here. 

Creating a strategic plan is one of the most important responsibilities of an organization’s top management. It is the vehicle that sets the goals and objectives of the organization, provides the roadmap as to how to reach those goals, identifies the resources needed for success, and describes how all of that information will be communicated throughout the organization.     

The plan should consist of the following:

Vision and Mission - The vision details the goals and objectives, where the company wants to be at a given point in time. The mission is preparing the roadmap as to how to get there.

SWOT Analysis - The SWOT analysis is a management tool used to scrutinize internal and external factors to help identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Strategy - After completing the SWOT analysis the following should be included
Develop strategies required to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization both internally and externally.

• Identify critical success factors.
• Develop overall organizational performance measures.
• Develop a tactical plan for each strategy.
• Develop performance measures for each tactical plan.
• Determine the resources needed to execute the plan.
• Develop a communication plan to align the entire organization.
• Assign strategic and tactical responsibilities to appropriate personnel.
• Develop a monitoring and measurement system

A well thought out strategic plan minimizes risks, enhances profitability and provides a documented, measurable, realistic plan for organizational growth.

Additional Resources on Business Structure

If examining your business structure seems overwhelming, or confusing, you may want to consult a few more resources. Here are some that we recommend for further reading:

Corporate by-laws serve as an internal  guide to how things are done within the business the company. This article contains more information on how to approach writing them:
http://www.ehow.com/info_8107137_corporation-bylaws.html

Having a clear organizational structure helps keep things functioning smoothly. There are various ways to consider organizing. This article describes several and offers examples: 
http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/557/which-organizational-structure-is-right-for-your-business/

Your business structure is important for several reasons, including tax purposes. The Small Business Administration offers a clear breakdown of the different types of structures, and some of the pros and cons for each one:
http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/choose-your-business-stru

Keeping an eye on your competition is a smart way to drive up the value of your business. Inc.com offers 10 tips that may help you research your competition in this article: 
http://www.inc.com/guides/201105/10-tips-on-how-to-research-your-competition.html

Resources for Developing Good Business Structure

If examining your business structure seems overwhelming, or confusing, you may want to consult a few more resources. Here are some that we recommend for further reading:

Corporate by-laws serve as an internal  guide to how things are done within the business the company. This article contains more information on how to approach writing them:
http://www.ehow.com/info_8107137_corporation-bylaws.html

Having a clear organizational structure helps keep things functioning smoothly. There are various ways to consider organizing. This article describes several and offers examples: 
http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/557/which-organizational-structure-is-right-for-your-business/

Your business structure is important for several reasons, including tax purposes. The Small Business Administration offers a clear breakdown of the different types of structures, and some of the pros and cons for each one:
http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/choose-your-business-stru

Keeping an eye on your competition is a smart way to drive up the value of your business. Inc.com offers 10 tips that may help you research your competition in this article: 
http://www.inc.com/guides/201105/10-tips-on-how-to-research-your-competition.html

Value Driver #1: Business Structure

Value Drivers are elements of a business that reduce risk and improve returns. In order to build the value of a business you must understand what  business valuation experts believe justify a premium price. There are two types of business drivers:  generic (common to all industries) and industry specific.  We have planned a series of articles to introduce you to the most important generic business drivers:

• Business Structure
  
• Strategic Financial Planning
• Internal Operating Systems and Procedures
• Human Resources
• Financial Management
• Benchmarking and measuring success

This month we will talk about business structure, and how it can affect a business’ value. Business structure is the foundation upon which everything else is built, and without sound structures in place, risk goes up while value goes down. There are three main components of business structure:

1. Corporate Documents
2. Organizational Structure
3. Competition

Corporate Documents

Your corporate documents must be maintained and in order at all times. Documents can serve as signed agreements that describe how the business will operate. If  the company has multiple shareholders, the rights and responsibilities of each shareholder should be clearly documented in order to avoid misunderstandings.

You can minimize risk by maintaining documents that are applicable to your business such as:

• shareholder agreements
• buy/sell agreements,
• by-laws  
• operating agreements

These documents should clearly state  how the company will address various situations as they occur.  For example, what will the company do if one of the shareholders becomes ill or passes away? Having a plan -- in the form of corporate documents -- lowers risk and raises the value of a business.    

Organization Structure

Creating an organization flow chart -- also known as process charting, workflow charting or business process mapping -- defines what a business entity does, who is responsible for specific tasks, to what standard the business process is to be completed, and how the process can be measured to determine success or failure. If only the owner knows who should be doing what, the value of business decreases because it is unlikely that the business could continue without the owner.

The functions represented in the chart can consist of sales and marketing, human resources, shipping and receiving, manufacturing, inventory, accounting and finance, and purchasing. Each business function should flow seamlessly to the next business function throughout the organization and should be completely understood by management and employees alike to maximize the efficiency of operations and to minimize the risk of loss.

Competition

You should know your industry and know who your competitors are, both directly and indirectly. Once you have that understanding (through research) you need to formulate documented plans to deal with competitors. The execution of a well thought out plan will reduce risk of loss due to competition.