By Hoge at August 07 2019 03:36:35
Strategic Planning & Goals: The first step is to identify the key company goals which will be the over_arching direction of the plan. These goals should be focused on three areas: financial, growth initiatives and alignment to the company's vision/mission. This provides the overall direction of the company by establishing high_level goals that will be achieved by tactical initiatives. The overall plan should be 1 to 3 years with measurement mileposts monthly, quarterly and annually. While the plan is put in place at the onset of the year, it should be constantly re_forecast with actual results throughout the year.
Who should prepare the plan? As a business consultant, this may sound like heresy, but I believe that any plan should be produced by the senior management of the organisation. That is not to say that the consultant does not have a role to play in its preparation. He does. Senior management should prepare the plan as they will then be able to present and discuss it, demonstrating to their audience that they fully understand their business and market. I believe that the consultant's role is to help facilitate the preparation of the plan, the consultant can help undertake the necessary research, and can cast a critical and impartial eye over the plan.