Common mistakes organisations make when developing their strategic plans

Many organisations repeat the same mistakes when developing their strategic plans, irrespective of their industry or size. Here are common mistakes which hinder the effectiveness of such plans, to ensure that your organisation avoids them:

 1: NOT BEING CLEAR ON THE MEANING AND COMPONENTS OF STRATEGY.

Many leaders adopt a singular indicator such as a target revenue or market position, or they take their marketing plan as their strategy. These are components of a strategy and not strategy in its entirety.

 2: NOT CONSIDERING INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS AND FACTORS.

Good strategic planning considers the needs, perspectives, and input of people beyond the C-suite to get their buy-in. Also, organisations often do not capitalise on the data they already have to derive insights which can enhance their strategy.

 3: NOT CONSIDERING EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS AND FACTORS.

It is vital to consider your competitors, customers’ needs and wants, and market trends in your strategic plan. Many organisations miss out on one or more of these factors.

 4: NOT HAVING A REALISTIC PLAN.

Organisations must recognise the implications of their strategic plan such as capabilities and financing required to implement it. The strategic plan should also be ambitious but feasible in the given time frame with clear KPIs and success measures.

 5: NOT OPTIMISING FOR IMPLEMENTATION.

The strategic plan should be clear, concise, simple and communicated effectively to stakeholders. The strategic planning process should also include regular monitoring and review mechanisms to track the progress and amend the direction of the strategic plan. By default, this means that recycling an outdated strategic plan is a wrong move.

In this article, Bernard Marr highlights 10 mistakes to avoid when creating your business strategy. We can partner with you to ensure you avoid such mistakes when developing your organisation’s winning strategic plan.

To find out how we can serve your organisation, book a complimentary 30 mins call with us.