Top 10 Attributes Of Successful Strategic Plans

For all the attention and focus placed on strategic planning and change initiatives, it’s hard to imagine that many strategic plans fail, and many change initiatives fall short of producing any meaningful or lasting change.

Below, several business mentors compared notes on initiatives that have succeeded and created a top 10 list of shared attributes for successful strategic planning.

What Is Strategic Planning?

Strategic planning generates a desired pattern of decision making across an organization. Strategic planning is about how people throughout a company make decisions and allocate resources to help accomplish key objectives.

A good strategic plan provides a clear roadmap, including a set of guiding principles that defines the actions people in the business should take (and not take) and the things they should prioritize (and not prioritize) to achieve the overall company goals.

Key Characteristics of Strategic Planning

So, what are the characteristics of a good strategy? 

Diagnosing Problems

Problems should be recognized, diagnosed, and investigated before good strategic planning can begin. Problems become the targets for strategic planning, so figure out what you're aiming for first.

Guiding Principles

Establish at least one guiding principle to help move you along your strategic path. The more guiding principles you have, the more effective your strategic abilities will become. If you have principles to fall back on, making trade-off decisions will be easier and you'll waste less time.

Taking Action

Goals, targets, and guiding principles tare great to have. But until action is taken, nothing actually happens. However, plan your action first. Jumping headfirst into action can be extremely unproductive, and even counterproductive, if taken without regard to targets and principles.

10 Attributes of Successful Strategic Plans

1. Consider internal and external factors.

You need an objective and unbiased understanding of what's happening in and outside your business. Take a hard look at what’s happening externally and internally, paying special attention to the needs of your stakeholders. Internal factors can include your company culture, business resources, cash-flow management, and more. External factors can include the economy, competitive landscape, and industry regulations, among others.

2. Set purposeful, realistic goals.

It’s critical for your team to understand the purpose of your strategic initiative and have clear business goals that are aspirational but realistic, notes Ned Frey, owner of Foursight Seminars, Inc. He thinks of goals based on “purpose, focus, and passion.” Purpose, a big picture focus, action, and measurement through defined KPIs should all be prioritized in setting goals. 

3. Create a sense of urgency.

“Without a sense of urgency, it’s too easy to put off until tomorrow what should be acted upon today,” says Allen Hauge, president of Hauge Farms, Inc. Setting smaller milestones within larger goals is important, but it's also important to get started. Plans often evolve as they go. It's about lighting the fire that inspires a will to change, even if it happens in small doses.

4. Leverage your organizational strengths.

What differentiates your business? Strategy is about understanding your company's strengths and leveraging them to get ahead. In the book Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras discuss the importance of balancing the unchanging core (values and company purpose), while stimulating progress (change and innovation). 

“Play to your organizational strengths. Not doing so is the equivalent of what Tom Rath describes as ‘taking the path of most resistance,’” says Steve Brody, a former senior executive with Coca-Cola.

5. Prioritize your organizational culture.

Working to align with your culture can go a long way toward moving your strategic plan forward. Employee buy-in and enthusiasm starts with understanding the 'why' behind your goals, along with outlining what steps they can individually take to help reach them. 

6. Establish commitment from leaders.

Leaders can’t force change, but they can guide it. Regardless of their leadership style, savvy leaders know how to show their own commitment and delegate properly to reach larger strategic goals. Good leaders can have a large impact on a company's strategic goals, supporting and guiding employees along the way.

7. Commit to executing strategic goals.

Successful execution means having the discipline necessary to achieve your goals and make sustainable behavioral change. As long as change is in place and planned accordingly with the team's buy-in, leaders don't have to commit to reaching drastic goals overnight.

8. Be transparent about the steps it takes.

It’s essential for employees to embrace the strategic plan as their own plan. To accomplish this level of buy-in, leaders should be as transparent as possible right from the start and clear on what action steps to prioritize. To sustain the effort in the long term, employees should understand how their daily activities are having an impact – and be rewarded accordingly.

9. Monitor, measure, get feedback.

“Even the best strategic plans require adjustments along the way,” says Linda Gabbard, president of Framework Initiatives Company, Inc.

That means looking at both intended and unintended effects. A performance dashboard can help with this. Monitor your plan’s progress and KPIs. Additionally, obtain feedback from all stakeholders and stay nimble to adjust as you go. Identifying and evaluating key assumptions about the plan is essential. Periodically, challenge your assumptions and see if you can improve the plan.

10. Emphasize and reward positive results.

Recognize small wins, reward your team's efforts, and reinforce the positive results your strategic initiatives have produced. Doing so will go a long way to taking strategy from tasks to being a core pillar of what your company has become.

The Takeaway

Successful strategic plans require clear, measurable, purpose-driven goals and full team buy-in. That way, individuals can be motivated to embrace their role in reaching larger strategic goals that can make a company thrive.

A version of this article was originally published on March 16, 2011.

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