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Successful strategic planning
Strategic planning is a discipline that requires time, attention and resources. However, not all strategies execute successfully. There are several reasons why strategic plans fail. Some of these reasons are identified below:
- M&A Integration Failures: Perhaps one of the most common failures seen in M&A integration exercises is the merging of two organizations without fully understanding the capabilities of each. This failure leads to the inability to realize synergies or at best, delaying the realization of deal model synergies. In addition to failing to realize the differences of each organization is not fully understanding each organization’s culture.
- Plan Execution Failures: Strategic plans don’t always execute successfully. There are a variety of reasons why this may be the case, but often it is due to faulty underlying assumptions on the timing of synergy capture, revenue growth or in the business model itself. Another reason for execution failures is poor project management – or the inability to move quickly to do what needs to be done. Finally, a large part as to why executions struggle is the inability of organizations to trust and support each other, which often results when different groups are planning and another group is executing.
- Management Level Failures: Another reason why strategic plans fail is due to the inability of the executive team to function cohesively. This may be due to a variety of reasons, a more prominent one tends to be personalities and egos. Another reason why plans fail due to management is the inability to develop values and a culture supports these plans. Finally and in only the most egregious of situations is the inability to prevent ethical and legal problems.
In summary, strategy is not an idea. It is a well thought-out, well developed plan to help businesses achieve a vision.
In order to be successful, strategic planning departments know to strike a balance between data mining and data analysis.
Strategy is impossible to achieve in a quarter or through annual results – it is a long-term play.
Too much strategizing and not enough action. What happens in some large organizations is that strategy can occupy 3-5 months of planning with very little time left for execution before the next year’s strategic plan is upon them again.
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How to build a strategic plan
