Meeting format for Strategic Planning (SP)

Meeting 1) President/CEO (P) & Facilitator (F) – On Site
Current situation. Overall purpose/result plan is to achieve. How SP meets this need. Mutual agreement on time line. Importance of support from the top. Guidelines for Strategic Planning Team (SPT) selection. Importance of “Fierce Conversations” & relationships.

2) President, SPT, Facilitator – Off Site, entire day 8-5.
(P) – Support comes from highest level. Critical need for SP to meet overall purpose. Criteria for member selection – individual differences & contributions, critical thinking. Sense of urgency. (F) – Overview of entire process & time line. Importance of participation; differences are gifts that make us stronger. Fierce Conversations. Creation of Mission, Values, & Vision Statements. Existing culture; is cultural change needed? Why?

3) Marketing Basics – Off Site 9-4
The Four Quadrants. Discipline of Market Leaders. Core Competencies. Focus & Niche. Competitive Advantage. Environmental Scanning, internal. What do we sell? What do our customers buy? How are we unique? How do we add value? What is ideal customer for us? Target vertical markets? Questionnaires/gathering information. What are our weaknesses?

4) External Scanning – Off Site 9-4
Marketplace characteristics. Who are our competitors? Why do customers buy from them instead of us? How do we attempt to beat or avoid competition? SWOT Analysis. Questionnaires/gathering information.

5) Setting Goals – Off Site 9-4
Build on strengths & take advantage of opportunities. Shore up weaknesses; avoid when possible. Strategic Formulation to achieve goals. Strategic Focus. Competitive Strategy.

6) Action Planning – Off Site 9-4
Objectives with time lines must be built. Ownership responsibilities, assign champions. It’s all about commitment! How to write the final plan. Allocation of resources - critical discussion of time, people, equipment, core competencies, money, material, & technology.

7) Final Plan Approval – On Site 9-12 followed by celebration luncheon. Corrections. Communicating to employees. Was overall purpose/result achieved? Follow-up plan.

8) Quarterly Evaluations – On Site
Measuring, monitoring, evaluation, handling deviations.