Balanced Scorecard Benchmarking Business Process Reengineering Collaborative Innovation Core Competencies Customer Relationship Management Customer Segmentation Decision Rights Tools Downsizing Growth Strategy Tools Knowledge Management Lean Six Sigma Loyalty Management Mergers and Acquisitions Mission and Vision Statements Online Communities Outsourcing Price Optimization Models Scenario and Contingency Planning Shared Service Centers Strategic Alliances Strategic Planning Supply Chain Management Total Quality Management Voice of the Customer Innovation Related Topics Core Competencies Mission and Vision Statements Scenario and Contingency Planning Description Strategic Planning is a comprehensive process for determining what a business should become and how it can best achieve that goal. It appraises the full potential of a business and explicitly links the business's objectives to the actions and resources required to achieve them. Strategic Planning offers a systematic process to ask and answer the most critical questions confronting a management team-especially large, irrevocable resource commitment decisions. Methodology A successful Strategic Planning process should: Describe the organization's mission, vision and fundamental values; Target potential business arenas and explore each market for emerging threats and opportunities; Understand the current and future priorities of targeted customer segments; Analyze the company's strengths and weaknesses relative to competitors and determine which elements of the value chain the company should make versus buy; Identify and evaluate alternative strategies; Develop an advantageous business model that will profitably differentiate the company from its competitors; Define stakeholder expectations and establish clear and compelling objectives for the business; Prepare programs, policies, and plans to implement the strategy; Establish supportive organizational structures, decision processes, information and control systems, and hiring and training systems; Allocate resources to develop critical capabilities; Plan for and respond to contingencies or environmental changes; Monitor performance. Common Uses Strategic Planning processes are often implemented to: Change the direction and performance of a business; Encourage fact-based discussions of politically sensitive issues; Create a common framework for decision making in the organization; Set a proper context for budget decisions and performance evaluations; Train managers to develop better information to make better decisions; Increase confidence in the business's direction. Related Bain capabilities Change Management Corporate Strategy Mission & Vision Strategic planning Selected References Collis, Daniel J., and Michael G. Rukstad. "Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?" Harvard Business Review, April 2008, pp. 82-90. Drucker, Peter F. Managing in a Time of Great Change. Plume, 1998. Goold, Michael, Andrew Campbell, and Marcus Alexander. Corporate-Level Strategy: Creating Value in the Multibusiness Company. John Wiley & Sons, 1994. Gottfredson, Mark, and Steve Schaubert. Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results. Collins Business, 2008. Hamel, Gary, and C.K. Prahalad. Competing for the Future. Harvard Business School Press, 1994. Hrebiniak, Lawrence G. Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change. Wharton School Publishing, 2005. Mankins, Michael C. "Stop Wasting Valuable Time." Harvard Business Review, September 2004, pp. 58-65. Mintzberg, Henry. The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning: Reconceiving Roles for Planning, Plans, Planners. Free Press, 1994. Mintzberg, Henry, Joseph Lampel, and Bruce Ahlstrand. Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through The Wilds of Strategic Management. Free Press, 1998. Porter, Michael E. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. Free Press, 1980. Porter, Michael E. "What Is Strategy?" Harvard Business Review, November/December 1996, pp. 61-78.