Strategic Planning
Only 10% of organizations successfully implement and execute strategic planning—and half of leadership teams dedicate little to no time to it. Yet 75% of successful companies operate with a strategic plan in place. Learn how to successfully implement strategic planning for your organization, and how The Barzel Group can help.
What Is Strategic Planning?
A strategic plan is the compass guiding an organization toward its desired destination. When leadership teams converge to assess their current status accurately, chart the course for their organization, and outline the necessary actions to reach their goals, they are actively engaging in strategic planning.
The Six Phases of Strategic Planning
Phase 1: Perspective
The StratOp Process begins with perspective. “Perspective before planning” is the key to success. If you have the right perspective, the strategic plan almost writes itself. In the perspective phase, the strategic planning facilitator guides the team in tightly defining the current state of the organization.
Phase 2: Core Plan
Once a team has the proper perspective, they have the wisdom to develop a living core strategic plan. The team will decide where the organization is headed, have a rationale for its plan, and a set of shared fundamental beliefs upon which to develop it. These components include strategic, operational, and financial assumptions; an organizational performance model; a set of performance drivers; key differentiating strategies; target customer definition; and company mission, vision, and core values.
Phase 3: Action
After the core plan phase, the team now knows where the company is going and is ready to move forward as a group. This is one of the key benefits of the StratOp process: silos are broken down, and strategic growth now involves the whole team. The team-developed core plan is the basis for creating a unified action plan. We do this by reviewing the core plan and asking, “What’s Important Now? (W.I.N.)” The answer allows the team to focus on quarterly goals and initiatives, all of which help to achieve company objectives.
Phase 4: Structure
Form follows function. The overriding purpose of the structure is to ensure that the right decisions are made in the right way under the plan. With a core plan and its resulting action plan in place, the structural requirements needed to implement it will be addressed. The strategic planning consultant will facilitate and coach to make sure organizational structure, culture, systems, processes, and staffing all support the plan.
Phase 5: Management
The StratOp process provides ongoing, regular feedback and accountability to help manage strategic plan implementation. The strategic planning facilitator meets quarterly with the team and asks, “How are we doing?” The team learns how to manage the plan via weekly, monthly, and quarterly reviews.
Phase 6: Renewal
Each year, the leadership team comes together to review and renew the entire strategic plan. At this session, facilitated by the strategic planning consultant, a fresh perspective is gained. Current action items, opportunities, patterns, trends, objectives, and goals are all reset for the coming year—and the StratOp process begins again.
The Benefits of Strategic Planning
Experience
For many small to mid-sized companies, the ability to think strategically is not a predominant trait. That’s not a slam on anyone, it’s just an observation. Often, these companies are led by industry experts whose talent and value is the ability to execute. Having strategic experience from the outside is a big plus for these companies.
Objectivity
Seeing the forest for the trees is a huge benefit that an outside strategic planning facilitator can bring. We’re often told, “You have a great ability to see things we can’t”. Actually, it’s just that we see it from the outside, a view that those inside the company don’t have. That proves to be beneficial, especially as we are gathering perspective.
Conflict Resolution
Because of the outside, third-party perspective that our strategic plan facilitators bring, we’re able to rally differing views in a unique way. We encourage each department to speak to other areas beyond their own, creating a horizontal exchange of ideas. This approach is where breakthroughs happen and where conflict is reduced.
Efficiency
There’s just something about having an outside third party guiding and keeping the team accountable. Over the years, we’ve repeatedly heard comments such as, “I can’t believe we have achieved so much in such a short time,” or, “I knew you were coming in for our quarterly review, and I didn’t want to let the team down, so I completed my initiative tasks.” Teams work more efficiently when they know someone’s “watching” from the outside.
Engagement
Often, the task of strategy is the domain of the leadership team. StratOp is different. Although the leadership team develops the plan, StratOp is designed to have the implementation of the plan cascade down through the organization. When that happens, the entire team rallies around the long-term and short-term objectives. When everyone is rowing together, the results are considerable.
Professional Development
There’s an additional benefit that our clients receive from working with our strategic planning facilitators: we are also leadership coaches. In addition to helping teams create and execute their plan, we can work alongside the executive team and help them develop as leaders. This one-two punch (strategy and development) has had a profound effect on the companies we work with.
Strategic Planning with the Barzel Group
We specialize in strategic planning using the StratOp process. This method, pioneered by Tom Paterson over five decades ago, is rooted in the Paterson Process, which navigates strategic planning through six distinct phases. This Socratic approach to planning results in a comprehensive strategic and operational process that fosters growth and effectiveness.
As strategic planning facilitators we help with crafting the structure and process for your strategic planning sessions, leading your organization’s onsite planning meetings, and guiding the development of your company’s strategic plan. We often remind our clients, “We’re the process—you’re the content.”
Strategic Planning Tools & Resources
Thinking Wavelength
Part of strategic planning is determining what kind of people are on your team and learning how to best delegate tasks in a manner that maximizes the outcome. The Thinking Wavelength is a talent assessment tool that uncovers the blend of creative/abstract and practical/concrete thinkers in your organization.
Four Helpful Lists
To gain a broader understanding of your current standing and begin the development of your plan and goals, ask yourself the following questions that are offered in this tool: What is right? What is wrong? What is confusing? What is missing? Your team will come away with a much better grasp of how to move forward with realistic, appropriate steps.
Patterns/Trends Analysis
Just as your business is ever-evolving and transitioning, so is the outside world and its patterns and trends. This tool allows a way to easily identify, map, and plan for these inevitable changes, whether they’re beneficial or detrimental to your business.
SWOT Analysis
Most use a SWOT analysis to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats holistically. In StratOp, we use it as part of the action phase. When a team is put together, they use this tool to gather perspective relative to the initiative they are about to embark on. The process creates a natural outflow for developing an initiative project plan.
Why Choose the Barzel Group?
With over two decades of experience in leading organizations through strategic planning, we adopt a collaborative approach focused on asking the right questions, making astute observations, and working through proven constructs. Our clients achieve clarity of direction, team cohesion, and exponential growth through the StratOp approach.
Schedule Your First Session
If you’re interested in learning more, we invite you to schedule a consultation to explore how strategic planning facilitation can propel your company forward.
See What Our Clients Have Said
As the Executive Director of a global non-profit ministry, it's been extremely valuable to have Jay as a Leadership Coach. since July 2017. I've found Jay's straightforward approach beneficial, inspiring, and rewarding. He's helped me identify key performance gaps, create plans for improvement, and implement lasting change. Personally, I admire Jay for his generous, caring heart and dedication to relationships. He truly cares about the individuals he coaches and wants his clients to flourish in all aspects and areas of his/her lives.
Cindy Bultema
Jay has this unique gifting to sit with you, listen to your situation/issues and then, he hits you with it...this laser-focused, pin-pointed, exacting diagnosis as to the core issue(s) that you're dealing with. His ability to identify not the symptoms, but the cause of my issues, has been so helpful. I would highly recommend Jay to anyone looking for some self-awareness growth as well as outside eyes on business improvement.
Hunter Hall
Jay brings a wealth of wisdom and leadership principles. As a CEO, Jay gave me a set of tools that I can use in multiple situations to help with decision-making and leadership. I would definitely recommend him!
Jon Verlee
Jay has been an invaluable coach and resource for the continued success and growth of our business. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to take their business to the next level.
Ross Haan
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