Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap   20-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPTX)
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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
$25.00


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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
$25.00


Add to Cart View Details

Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


Add to Cart View Details


Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
$25.00


Add to Cart View Details

Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


Add to Cart View Details


Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
$25.00


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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
$25.00


Add to Cart View Details

Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


Add to Cart View Details


Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
$25.00


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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Best Practices in Strategic Planning (23-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
$25.00


Add to Cart View Details

Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
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Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Strategy Framework Canvas (44-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPT)) Preview Image
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


Add to Cart View Details


Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
FREE DOWNLOAD
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

Download this FREE 50+ slide PowerPoint

SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
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Strategic Planning is an annual process organizations conduct to plan their near-, mid-, and long-term strategies. A robust Strategic Planning process arms the organization with clearly defined strategic objectives across all time horizons and prepares the organization for successful Strategy Development and Execution.

Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Planning is a crucial process, but often poorly executed, leading to poor translation from Strategy to Execution. Through this article, we hope you will not only understand the purpose and scope of Strategic Planning, but also have a firm grasp of how to effectively and efficiently execute and manage the full Strategy process, from Planning to Execution.

This article breaks the full Planning to Execution processes into 3 sections. You can click on the links below to jump to the corresponding section. However, we recommend you read the full article from top to bottom, at least initially.

  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Strategy Development
  3. Strategy Execution
For each section, we will highlight important concepts core to the topic, as well as direct you to relevant resources for further understanding. You will understand the purpose of each phase and be armed with useful business frameworks to properly structure your strategic analyses and implementation approach.

Strategic Planning

Per Wikipedia, we can define Strategic Planning as:

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic Planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.


In most organizations, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today's rapidly changing, digital markets. To combat these issues, we can follow these 3 steps of Strategic Planning:

  1. Explore Strategy across 3 time horizons.
  2. Encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue.
  3. Engage a broad, decentralized group of stakeholders.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these 3 steps of Strategic Planning.

1. Explore

The 3 time horizons we want to explore can be defined as short term (1-year timeframe), medium term (3-5 years timeframe), and long term (5+ years). Each horizon is uniquely considered and has different objectives.

Best Practices in Strategic Planning - Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons

  • Short Term Horizon – The objective here is to challenge the current strategy, evaluate progress, and explore options to accelerate execution. The scope is around products, regions, and functions. As we explore the short term strategy, it’s important to encourage a culture of creativity and real dialogue. We should seek to avoid a budget-focused process and discussion.
  • Medium Term Horizon – The purpose in the medium term horizon discussion is to enumerate the steps necessary to realize the vision. The scope is around the business unit. Our focus in this horizon is to develop clear, actionable business plans that describe the multi-year strategic initiatives to transform vision into value.
  • Long Term Horizon – Lastly, the objective over the Long Term horizon is to define, validate, or redefine the vision, mission, and direction of the organization. This session is the forum to challenge and redefine the boundaries of our market. We want to shape our future by influencing the industry with our strategic actions.

2. Encourage

Most organizations repeat the same Strategic Planning process year after year. This leads to a situation where year after year, the usefulness of the Strategic Planning process deteriorates, as most analyses become adjustments of last year’s analyses. There is a stagnation of effectiveness. The same inputs lead to similar conclusions and creativity is sapped from the sessions.

So, how do we break this type of cycle and behavior? The answer is to encourage productive and stimulating Strategic Dialogue by asking different questions. Great strategists need to learn the “art of questioning.” Here are a few guiding principles around this regard:

  • Questions shouldn’t be too broad (e.g. “How do we disrupt the industry?”).
  • Questions also shouldn’t be too narrow (e.g. “What’s should the pricing be?”).
  • The leadership team should engage in a strategic workshop to articulate and prioritize key questions we need to answer in the next 3-5 years.

Once the right questions are selected, we can have teams address these questions. These teams will design novel, relevant analyses, amass new knowledge, and develop strategic recommendations. Remember, as well, question-driven strategic dialogue is an iterative process.

3. Engage

Organizations that engage a broad, decentralized group (of both internal and external) stakeholders in their strategic development efforts yield stronger results than organizations that leave strategy in the hands of a small, centralized team.

Involving a broad group prevents groupthink. We should involve folks from different backgrounds, generations, and geographies. This is more likely to surface alternative ideas and perspectives. It is common to also engage participants external to the organization—e.g., customers, suppliers, consultants.

This approach improves our strategic “peripheral vision.” In other words, it makes us more adept in spotting both opportunities and risks early.

It is also important to engage stakeholders early on, as this increases buy-in, which helps with the Strategy Execution process later on.

For business frameworks on Strategic Planning:

Strategy Development

With the right process in place for a productive and robust Planning, we now need to ensure we have the right tools and philosophies to formulate a well thought out Strategy that is appropriate for our competitive and organizational situation.

The good news is there’s a plethora of research and consultative frameworks on Strategy Development and Strategic Thinking, perhaps more so than any other management topic. There are literally 100s of Strategy Development frameworks developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

This is also the bad news. As there are so many tools available, it can be difficult to determine what the right approach is for our organization.

Corporate Strategy Framework

To help navigate through the available tools, let’s take a look at the Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC). The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate Corporate Strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively. This model is particularly useful for large organizations that are now stretched across a more diverse and faster-changing range of business situations.

Introduction to Business Strategy Development & Execution
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STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PRIMER

This 54-slide presentation introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. Topics covered include: Porter's Five Forces, Product Lifecycle, Consumer Adoption Curve, BCG Matrix, SWOT, PEST, Marketing Mix, etc.

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SFC identifies 5 distinct archetypal approaches to strategy:

  1. Classic
  2. Adaptive
  3. Visionary
  4. Leader
  5. Renewal

Classic Strategy

The Classic approach is the most common approach. In this situation, the market is predictable, basis of competition is stable, and strategy is sustainable.

Classic strategy is achieved through sustainable Competitive Advantage by positioning our organization optimally in an attractive market. Since the basis of Competitive Advantage within these environments is known and non-malleable, advantage can be based on superior scale, differentiation (or, equivalently, scale within a narrower market segment), or superior capabilities.

The most well-known Strategy frameworks are the Classics, such as:

Adaptive Strategy

We use the Adaptive approach when the environment is neither predictable nor malleable. There is continuous disruption in the market.

Unlike the Classic approach of sustainable Competitive Advantage, the foundation to the Adaptive approach to strategy is the notion of serial temporary advantage. Within unpredictable and non-malleable environments, the emphasis is on continuous experimentation and real-time adjustment—as opposed to long-term analysis and planning. Because advantage is temporary, we focus on means and not ends.

Examples of Adaptive frameworks include:

  • Time-based Competition
  • Temporary Advantage
  • Adaptive Advantage

Visionary Strategy

We take the Visionary approach when we can reliably create or re-create an environment by some degree of predictability by seeing an opportunity and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Visionary approaches are most frequently associated with entrepreneurial start-ups. However, large organizations, such as Google, also drive Visionary Strategy through Corporate Entrepreneurship programs. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established organization conceive, develop, launch, and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent organization by leveraging the parent organization's resources.

Examples here include:

Leader Strategy

The Leader Approach is used when the environment is unpredictable, but malleable. We can shape or re-shape the whole industry.

A Leader approach both permits and requires an organization to collaborate with others in a diverse ecosystem that distributes risk, supplies complementary capabilities and resources, and builds the market quickly through strength in numbers.

Examples of Leader frameworks include:

  • Networks
  • Ecosystems
  • Platforms

Renewal Strategy

Lastly, the Renewal strategy approach is used when the environment is harsh. This type of strategy aims to restore the vitality and competitiveness of the organization.

In such a harsh environment, the existing circumstances prevent the current way of doing business from being sustainable. The first step is to change course to preserve and free up resources.

Examples here include any type of the following:

Developing a Strategy

Once we determine the type of Strategy approach to take, the next step is to adopt a Strategy Development framework most befitting our organization. The Corporate Strategy Framework is a structured approach that organizations use to develop and implement their overall strategic direction. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions and aligning various elements of the organization to achieve its long-term goals and objectives.

Key considerations when developing a Strategy Plan should include:

  • Leadership Style: This refers to the approach and behaviors adopted by leaders and management in guiding and influencing the rest of the employee base. Different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, or servant leadership, have varying impacts on Organizational Culture, Employee Motivation, as well as Strategic Planning and Execution. The leadership style should be consistent with the Strategic Objectives and the Corporate Culture.
  • Corporate Culture: These are our organization's values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape the organization's work environment. It influences how employees interact, make decisions, and work together towards achieving strategic objectives. A well-defined and aligned Corporate Culture supports the execution of the Strategy.
  • Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines how roles, responsibilities, and authority are distributed within the organization. It determines how information flows, decisions are made, and resources are allocated. The structure should evolve and be reflective of the size and type of organization (e.g. small, virtual startup vs. global enterprise with decentralized operations).
  • Competitive Positioning: Positioning involves identifying and establishing a unique and favorable position in the market relative to competitors. It involves determining the target market segments, differentiation strategies, and value proposition to gain a Competitive Advantage.
  • Core Competencies: Core Competences are the unique strengths and capabilities of an organization that provide a Competitive Advantage in the market. They can include specialized knowledge, technology, intellectual property, or specific skills that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The Corporate Strategy Framework should leverage and enhance these Core Competences to drive sustainable Competitive Advantage and business success.
  • Environmental Analysis: This involves assessing the external factors that impact the organization, such as market trends, competition, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. It helps identify opportunities and threats.
  • Mission, Vision, Values: This defines the organization's purpose, values, and aspirations, outlining what it aims to achieve in the long term.
  • Performance Management: Organizations establish metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards goals and regularly review performance to make necessary adjustments.
  • Risk Management: Organizations identify and assess potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This ensures that the strategic initiatives are implemented in a controlled and sustainable manner.

The Strategic Analysis and Strategy Formulation process typically also involves a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. Conducting a SWOT allows us to analyze the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external factors. By identifying these factors, we can develop strategies to maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and protect against threats.

For business frameworks on Strategy Development:

The Strategy Chessboard (listed above) is another holistic Strategy framework, similar to the SFC. For even more materials on specific Strategy frameworks, take a look at our Strategy Development Stream (here) and the Flevy Marketplace (here).

Strategy Execution

Strategy without Execution is merely theory. Every organization has a Strategy. But, did you know the majority of strategies fail?

Numerous studies from top consulting firms (including McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and Harvard Business Review have shown approximately 70% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Furthermore, organizations only realize about 60% of their strategies’ value.

This gap between the Strategic Plan and actual performance results is called the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Strategy-Execution Gap - Sources of Organizational Performance Loss


Strategic Planning and Execution

For most organizations, their projected performance based on business Strategic Planning forecasts follow a “venetian blinds” pattern. In other words, when each year’s performance projections are viewed side by side, the resulting diagram resembles a series of diagonal venetian blinds. This pattern signifies a deeper issue of an institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which has damaging impacts to the organization’s culture.

This performance gap between Strategic Planning and Strategy Execution can arise due to various reasons, including inadequate communication and alignment within the organization, insufficient resources or capabilities, lack of clear accountability and ownership, resistance to change, ineffective performance measurement and monitoring, and failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, among others.

Additionally, a gap can occur when there is a disconnect between the strategic plan's goals and the day-to-day activities of employees.

Bridging this gap requires a concerted organizational effort led by effective leadership. To achieve this, here are 3 guiding principles to follow to close the Strategy-Execution Gap.

Principle 1: Keep it simple

In most organizations, Strategy is a highly abstract concept, often misused to be synonymous with vision or aspiration. It is likewise something that’s not easily communicated or translated into action. Resultantly, without a link between strategy and performance cannot be drawn, because the strategy itself is not sufficiently coherent and concrete.

On the other hand, high-performing organizations avoid long, drawn-out descriptions of lofty goals. Instead, they utilize clear, succinct language describing their course of action. By being very clear on what the strategy is and isn’t, we can keep all employees headed in a unified direction.

Principle 2: Use a rigorous Strategy Execution/Deployment framework

To be productive, the dialogue between corporate and the business unit about market assumptions must be conducted within a rigorous framework. Here are some frameworks available on Flevy:

The specific framework used to ground our Strategic Planning isn’t the most important. What is critical is that the framework establishes a common language for dialogue between corporate and the business units—one that also unifies and the strategy, marketing, and finance teams.

Without such a framework, it is difficult for management to determine whether the financial projections are reasonable and realistic. Thus, management can’t know with confidence whether performance shortfall stems from poor execution or a poor plan

Principle 3: Continuously monitor performance

High performing organizations utilize real-time performance tracking. They continuously monitor resource deployment patterns and their results against plans, leveraging continuous feedback to reset planning assumptions and reallocate resources accordingly. This real-time approach allows management to identify and find flaws in the plan, as well as shortfalls in execution—and to avoid confusing one with the other.

Continual performance monitoring is particularly important in highly volatile industries. In such environments, events outside the organization’s control can render a plan useless.

View frameworks specific to Performance Management.

Many of the concepts in this article are summarized in this explainer video produced by Flevy:


Furthermore, the 3 documents below highlight the core concepts of Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, and Strategy Execution discussed in this article. To develop Expertise and achieve Excellence in Strategy, we recommend taking a look at our Strategy Development Stream offering.

Source: Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC), Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap
[Full source materials below]

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Best Practices in Strategic Planning

This framework presents an overview approach to the Strategic Planning process, along with 4 Strategic Planning best practices to ensure effective Business Strategy Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution.

Specific topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others.

 
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Strategy Framework Canvas (SFC)

The SFC is a tool to help navigate through the sea of existing strategy frameworks. Since the 1950s, corporate strategy thinking has been evolving--new strategy frameworks are introduced each year. Today, there are literally 100s of strategy frameworks that have been developed by strategists, academics, and consulting firms.

The SFC is a unifying choice framework that guides us in selecting the appropriate strategy for the circumstances at hand and execute it effectively.

 
$49.00


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Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.

 
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– Nishi Singh, Strategist and MD at NSP Consultants
 
"One of the great discoveries that I have made for my business is the Flevy library of training materials.

As a Lean Transformation Expert, I am always making presentations to clients on a variety of topics: Training, Transformation, Total Productive Maintenance, Culture, Coaching, Tools, Leadership Behavior, etc. Flevy "

– Ed Kemmerling, Senior Lean Transformation Expert at PMG
 
"FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The "

– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revamp for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates a series of boutique hotels in North America and has recently encountered stagnation in market share growth.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations ensure alignment between their digital transformation efforts and overarching strategic goals?
Organizations can align Digital Transformation with Strategic Goals through comprehensive Strategic Planning, Leadership, Culture, and Performance Management, ensuring technologies drive towards long-term objectives for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
In what ways can businesses leverage AI and machine learning to enhance their corporate strategy and gain a competitive edge?
Businesses can leverage AI and ML for Strategic Planning, enhancing Customer Experiences, and achieving Operational Excellence, leading to transformative changes and sustainable growth. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

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"[Flevy] produces some great work that has been/continues to be of immense help not only to myself, but as I seek to provide professional services to my clients, it gives me a large "tool box" of resources that are critical to provide them with the quality of service and outcomes they are expecting."

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– Dean Carlton, Chief Transformation Officer, Global Village Transformations Pty Ltd.
 
"As a consulting firm, we had been creating subject matter training materials for our people and found the excellent materials on Flevy, which saved us 100's of hours of re-creating what already exists on the Flevy materials we purchased."

– Michael Evans, Managing Director at Newport LLC

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revamp for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates a series of boutique hotels in North America and has recently encountered stagnation in market share growth.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations ensure alignment between their digital transformation efforts and overarching strategic goals?
Organizations can align Digital Transformation with Strategic Goals through comprehensive Strategic Planning, Leadership, Culture, and Performance Management, ensuring technologies drive towards long-term objectives for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
In what ways can businesses leverage AI and machine learning to enhance their corporate strategy and gain a competitive edge?
Businesses can leverage AI and ML for Strategic Planning, enhancing Customer Experiences, and achieving Operational Excellence, leading to transformative changes and sustainable growth. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"One of the great discoveries that I have made for my business is the Flevy library of training materials.

As a Lean Transformation Expert, I am always making presentations to clients on a variety of topics: Training, Transformation, Total Productive Maintenance, Culture, Coaching, Tools, Leadership Behavior, etc. Flevy "

– Ed Kemmerling, Senior Lean Transformation Expert at PMG
 
"Flevy.com has proven to be an invaluable resource library to our Independent Management Consultancy, supporting and enabling us to better serve our enterprise clients.

The value derived from our [FlevyPro] subscription in terms of the business it has helped to gain far exceeds the investment made, making a subscription a no-brainer for any growing consultancy – or in-house strategy team."

– Dean Carlton, Chief Transformation Officer, Global Village Transformations Pty Ltd.
 
"As a consulting firm, we had been creating subject matter training materials for our people and found the excellent materials on Flevy, which saved us 100's of hours of re-creating what already exists on the Flevy materials we purchased."

– Michael Evans, Managing Director at Newport LLC
 
"If you are looking for great resources to save time with your business presentations, Flevy is truly a value-added resource. Flevy has done all the work for you and we will continue to utilize Flevy as a source to extract up-to-date information and data for our virtual and onsite presentations!"

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"FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The "

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– M. E., Chief Commercial Officer, International Logistics Service Provider
 
"[Flevy] produces some great work that has been/continues to be of immense help not only to myself, but as I seek to provide professional services to my clients, it gives me a large "tool box" of resources that are critical to provide them with the quality of service and outcomes they are expecting."

– Royston Knowles, Executive with 50+ Years of Board Level Experience

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revamp for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates a series of boutique hotels in North America and has recently encountered stagnation in market share growth.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations ensure alignment between their digital transformation efforts and overarching strategic goals?
Organizations can align Digital Transformation with Strategic Goals through comprehensive Strategic Planning, Leadership, Culture, and Performance Management, ensuring technologies drive towards long-term objectives for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
In what ways can businesses leverage AI and machine learning to enhance their corporate strategy and gain a competitive edge?
Businesses can leverage AI and ML for Strategic Planning, enhancing Customer Experiences, and achieving Operational Excellence, leading to transformative changes and sustainable growth. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
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"FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The "

– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd
 
"I have used Flevy services for a number of years and have never, ever been disappointed. As a matter of fact, David and his team continue, time after time, to impress me with their willingness to assist and in the real sense of the word. I have concluded in fact "

– Roberto Pelliccia, Senior Executive in International Hospitality
 
"Flevy.com has proven to be an invaluable resource library to our Independent Management Consultancy, supporting and enabling us to better serve our enterprise clients.

The value derived from our [FlevyPro] subscription in terms of the business it has helped to gain far exceeds the investment made, making a subscription a no-brainer for any growing consultancy – or in-house strategy team."

– Dean Carlton, Chief Transformation Officer, Global Village Transformations Pty Ltd.
 
"Flevy is now a part of my business routine. I visit Flevy at least 3 times each month.

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"Last Sunday morning, I was diligently working on an important presentation for a client and found myself in need of additional content and suitable templates for various types of graphics. Flevy.com proved to be a treasure trove for both content and design at a reasonable price, considering the time I "

– M. E., Chief Commercial Officer, International Logistics Service Provider

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revamp for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates a series of boutique hotels in North America and has recently encountered stagnation in market share growth.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations ensure alignment between their digital transformation efforts and overarching strategic goals?
Organizations can align Digital Transformation with Strategic Goals through comprehensive Strategic Planning, Leadership, Culture, and Performance Management, ensuring technologies drive towards long-term objectives for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
In what ways can businesses leverage AI and machine learning to enhance their corporate strategy and gain a competitive edge?
Businesses can leverage AI and ML for Strategic Planning, enhancing Customer Experiences, and achieving Operational Excellence, leading to transformative changes and sustainable growth. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"As a consulting firm, we had been creating subject matter training materials for our people and found the excellent materials on Flevy, which saved us 100's of hours of re-creating what already exists on the Flevy materials we purchased."

– Michael Evans, Managing Director at Newport LLC
 
"The wide selection of frameworks is very useful to me as an independent consultant. In fact, it rivals what I had at my disposal at Big 4 Consulting firms in terms of efficacy and organization."

– Julia T., Consulting Firm Owner (Former Manager at Deloitte and Capgemini)
 
"One of the great discoveries that I have made for my business is the Flevy library of training materials.

As a Lean Transformation Expert, I am always making presentations to clients on a variety of topics: Training, Transformation, Total Productive Maintenance, Culture, Coaching, Tools, Leadership Behavior, etc. Flevy "

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– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revamp for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates a series of boutique hotels in North America and has recently encountered stagnation in market share growth.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations ensure alignment between their digital transformation efforts and overarching strategic goals?
Organizations can align Digital Transformation with Strategic Goals through comprehensive Strategic Planning, Leadership, Culture, and Performance Management, ensuring technologies drive towards long-term objectives for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
In what ways can businesses leverage AI and machine learning to enhance their corporate strategy and gain a competitive edge?
Businesses can leverage AI and ML for Strategic Planning, enhancing Customer Experiences, and achieving Operational Excellence, leading to transformative changes and sustainable growth. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

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"Flevy is now a part of my business routine. I visit Flevy at least 3 times each month.

Flevy has become my preferred learning source, because what it provides is practical, current, and useful in this era where the business world is being rewritten.

In today's environment where there are so "

– Omar Hernán Montes Parra, CEO at Quantum SFE
 
"As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value."

– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting
 
"I am extremely grateful for the proactiveness and eagerness to help and I would gladly recommend the Flevy team if you are looking for data and toolkits to help you work through business solutions."

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"FlevyPro provides business frameworks from many of the global giants in management consulting that allow you to provide best in class solutions for your clients."

– David Harris, Managing Director at Futures Strategy

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Growth Strategy Optimization for a Telecom Operator

Scenario: As a leading telecom operator in a competitive market, the organization is grappling with stagnating growth in a saturated customer base and increasing pressure from emerging digital services.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

How can organizations ensure alignment between their digital transformation efforts and overarching strategic goals?
Organizations can align Digital Transformation with Strategic Goals through comprehensive Strategic Planning, Leadership, Culture, and Performance Management, ensuring technologies drive towards long-term objectives for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
What role will quantum computing play in shaping future corporate strategies, especially in data analysis and decision-making processes?
Quantum computing will revolutionize corporate strategies by significantly improving Data Analysis, Decision-Making Processes, Strategic Planning, and driving Operational Excellence and Innovation, positioning early adopters for industry leadership. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"I have found Flevy to be an amazing resource and library of useful presentations for lean sigma, change management and so many other topics. This has reduced the time I need to spend on preparing for my performance consultation. The library is easily accessible and updates are regularly provided. A wealth of great information."

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"Flevy.com has proven to be an invaluable resource library to our Independent Management Consultancy, supporting and enabling us to better serve our enterprise clients.

The value derived from our [FlevyPro] subscription in terms of the business it has helped to gain far exceeds the investment made, making a subscription a no-brainer for any growing consultancy – or in-house strategy team."

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"I am extremely grateful for the proactiveness and eagerness to help and I would gladly recommend the Flevy team if you are looking for data and toolkits to help you work through business solutions."

– Trevor Booth, Partner, Fast Forward Consulting
 
"As a consulting firm, we had been creating subject matter training materials for our people and found the excellent materials on Flevy, which saved us 100's of hours of re-creating what already exists on the Flevy materials we purchased."

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"As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value."

– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Growth Strategy Optimization for a Telecom Operator

Scenario: As a leading telecom operator in a competitive market, the organization is grappling with stagnating growth in a saturated customer base and increasing pressure from emerging digital services.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

How can organizations ensure alignment between their digital transformation efforts and overarching strategic goals?
Organizations can align Digital Transformation with Strategic Goals through comprehensive Strategic Planning, Leadership, Culture, and Performance Management, ensuring technologies drive towards long-term objectives for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
What role will quantum computing play in shaping future corporate strategies, especially in data analysis and decision-making processes?
Quantum computing will revolutionize corporate strategies by significantly improving Data Analysis, Decision-Making Processes, Strategic Planning, and driving Operational Excellence and Innovation, positioning early adopters for industry leadership. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"I like your product. I'm frequently designing PowerPoint presentations for my company and your product has given me so many great ideas on the use of charts, layouts, tools, and frameworks. I really think the templates are a valuable asset to the job."

– Roberto Fuentes Martinez, Senior Executive Director at Technology Transformation Advisory
 
"The wide selection of frameworks is very useful to me as an independent consultant. In fact, it rivals what I had at my disposal at Big 4 Consulting firms in terms of efficacy and organization."

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– M. E., Chief Commercial Officer, International Logistics Service Provider
 
"Flevy is now a part of my business routine. I visit Flevy at least 3 times each month.

Flevy has become my preferred learning source, because what it provides is practical, current, and useful in this era where the business world is being rewritten.

In today's environment where there are so "

– Omar Hernán Montes Parra, CEO at Quantum SFE
 
"FlevyPro provides business frameworks from many of the global giants in management consulting that allow you to provide best in class solutions for your clients."

– David Harris, Managing Director at Futures Strategy
 
"As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value."

– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting
 
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– Debbi Saffo, President at The NiKhar Group
 
"FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The "

– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Construction Firm in Sustainable Building

Scenario: A significant player in the sustainable construction sector is embarking on strategic planning to address a recent 20% increase in project delivery times and a 15% rise in costs.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations redesign their corporate structure to be more agile and responsive to market changes?
Redesigning corporate structure for agility involves adopting Agile Organizational Models, leveraging technology for Digital Transformation, and fostering a culture of Innovation and Collaboration to navigate the VUCA world effectively. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
What role will quantum computing play in shaping future corporate strategies, especially in data analysis and decision-making processes?
Quantum computing will revolutionize corporate strategies by significantly improving Data Analysis, Decision-Making Processes, Strategic Planning, and driving Operational Excellence and Innovation, positioning early adopters for industry leadership. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"Flevy is our 'go to' resource for management material, at an affordable cost. The Flevy library is comprehensive and the content deep, and typically provides a great foundation for us to further develop and tailor our own service offer."

– Chris McCann, Founder at Resilient.World
 
"Flevy is now a part of my business routine. I visit Flevy at least 3 times each month.

Flevy has become my preferred learning source, because what it provides is practical, current, and useful in this era where the business world is being rewritten.

In today's environment where there are so "

– Omar Hernán Montes Parra, CEO at Quantum SFE
 
"My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me "

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"I have found Flevy to be an amazing resource and library of useful presentations for lean sigma, change management and so many other topics. This has reduced the time I need to spend on preparing for my performance consultation. The library is easily accessible and updates are regularly provided. A wealth of great information."

– Cynthia Howard RN, PhD, Executive Coach at Ei Leadership
 
"As a consultant requiring up to date and professional material that will be of value and use to my clients, I find Flevy a very reliable resource.

The variety and quality of material available through Flevy offers a very useful and commanding source for information. Using Flevy saves me time, enhances my expertise and ends up being a good decision."

– Dennis Gershowitz, Principal at DG Associates
 
"I have used Flevy services for a number of years and have never, ever been disappointed. As a matter of fact, David and his team continue, time after time, to impress me with their willingness to assist and in the real sense of the word. I have concluded in fact "

– Roberto Pelliccia, Senior Executive in International Hospitality
 
"[Flevy] produces some great work that has been/continues to be of immense help not only to myself, but as I seek to provide professional services to my clients, it gives me a large "tool box" of resources that are critical to provide them with the quality of service and outcomes they are expecting."

– Royston Knowles, Executive with 50+ Years of Board Level Experience
 
"FlevyPro provides business frameworks from many of the global giants in management consulting that allow you to provide best in class solutions for your clients."

– David Harris, Managing Director at Futures Strategy

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Construction Firm in Sustainable Building

Scenario: A significant player in the sustainable construction sector is embarking on strategic planning to address a recent 20% increase in project delivery times and a 15% rise in costs.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations redesign their corporate structure to be more agile and responsive to market changes?
Redesigning corporate structure for agility involves adopting Agile Organizational Models, leveraging technology for Digital Transformation, and fostering a culture of Innovation and Collaboration to navigate the VUCA world effectively. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
What role will quantum computing play in shaping future corporate strategies, especially in data analysis and decision-making processes?
Quantum computing will revolutionize corporate strategies by significantly improving Data Analysis, Decision-Making Processes, Strategic Planning, and driving Operational Excellence and Innovation, positioning early adopters for industry leadership. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The "

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The variety and quality of material available through Flevy offers a very useful and commanding source for information. Using Flevy saves me time, enhances my expertise and ends up being a good decision."

– Dennis Gershowitz, Principal at DG Associates
 
"I have used Flevy services for a number of years and have never, ever been disappointed. As a matter of fact, David and his team continue, time after time, to impress me with their willingness to assist and in the real sense of the word. I have concluded in fact "

– Roberto Pelliccia, Senior Executive in International Hospitality
 
"My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me "

– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects
 
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– Michael Evans, Managing Director at Newport LLC

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Construction Firm in Sustainable Building

Scenario: A significant player in the sustainable construction sector is embarking on strategic planning to address a recent 20% increase in project delivery times and a 15% rise in costs.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations redesign their corporate structure to be more agile and responsive to market changes?
Redesigning corporate structure for agility involves adopting Agile Organizational Models, leveraging technology for Digital Transformation, and fostering a culture of Innovation and Collaboration to navigate the VUCA world effectively. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
What role will quantum computing play in shaping future corporate strategies, especially in data analysis and decision-making processes?
Quantum computing will revolutionize corporate strategies by significantly improving Data Analysis, Decision-Making Processes, Strategic Planning, and driving Operational Excellence and Innovation, positioning early adopters for industry leadership. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"I have found Flevy to be an amazing resource and library of useful presentations for lean sigma, change management and so many other topics. This has reduced the time I need to spend on preparing for my performance consultation. The library is easily accessible and updates are regularly provided. A wealth of great information."

– Cynthia Howard RN, PhD, Executive Coach at Ei Leadership
 
"As a young consulting firm, requests for input from clients vary and it's sometimes impossible to provide expert solutions across a broad spectrum of requirements. That was before I discovered Flevy.com.

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The variety and quality of material available through Flevy offers a very useful and commanding source for information. Using Flevy saves me time, enhances my expertise and ends up being a good decision."

– Dennis Gershowitz, Principal at DG Associates
 
"FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The "

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"[Flevy] produces some great work that has been/continues to be of immense help not only to myself, but as I seek to provide professional services to my clients, it gives me a large "tool box" of resources that are critical to provide them with the quality of service and outcomes they are expecting."

– Royston Knowles, Executive with 50+ Years of Board Level Experience
 
"Flevy.com has proven to be an invaluable resource library to our Independent Management Consultancy, supporting and enabling us to better serve our enterprise clients.

The value derived from our [FlevyPro] subscription in terms of the business it has helped to gain far exceeds the investment made, making a subscription a no-brainer for any growing consultancy – or in-house strategy team."

– Dean Carlton, Chief Transformation Officer, Global Village Transformations Pty Ltd.

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revamp for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates a series of boutique hotels in North America and has recently encountered stagnation in market share growth.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations redesign their corporate structure to be more agile and responsive to market changes?
Redesigning corporate structure for agility involves adopting Agile Organizational Models, leveraging technology for Digital Transformation, and fostering a culture of Innovation and Collaboration to navigate the VUCA world effectively. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
What role will quantum computing play in shaping future corporate strategies, especially in data analysis and decision-making processes?
Quantum computing will revolutionize corporate strategies by significantly improving Data Analysis, Decision-Making Processes, Strategic Planning, and driving Operational Excellence and Innovation, positioning early adopters for industry leadership. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.
Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap

This framework explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (also called the Strategy-Execution Gap), its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.  

$25.00


Add to Cart View Details


Flevy is the world's largest knowledge base on Strategy, Planning, & Execution.


Leverage the Experience of Experts.

Find documents of the same caliber as those used by top-tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture.

Download Immediately and Use.

Our PowerPoint presentations, Excel workbooks, and Word documents are completely customizable, including rebrandable.

Save Time, Effort, and Money.

Save yourself and your employees countless hours. Use that time to work on more value-added and fulfilling activities.

Explore the Top 100 Best Practices on Strategy & Transformation


Read Customer Testimonials

 
"I have used Flevy services for a number of years and have never, ever been disappointed. As a matter of fact, David and his team continue, time after time, to impress me with their willingness to assist and in the real sense of the word. I have concluded in fact "

– Roberto Pelliccia, Senior Executive in International Hospitality
 
"Flevy.com has proven to be an invaluable resource library to our Independent Management Consultancy, supporting and enabling us to better serve our enterprise clients.

The value derived from our [FlevyPro] subscription in terms of the business it has helped to gain far exceeds the investment made, making a subscription a no-brainer for any growing consultancy – or in-house strategy team."

– Dean Carlton, Chief Transformation Officer, Global Village Transformations Pty Ltd.
 
"As an Independent Management Consultant, I find Flevy to add great value as a source of best practices, templates and information on new trends. Flevy has matured and the quality and quantity of the library is excellent. Lastly the price charged is reasonable, creating a win-win value for "

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"As a consultant requiring up to date and professional material that will be of value and use to my clients, I find Flevy a very reliable resource.

The variety and quality of material available through Flevy offers a very useful and commanding source for information. Using Flevy saves me time, enhances my expertise and ends up being a good decision."

– Dennis Gershowitz, Principal at DG Associates
 
"FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The "

– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd
 
"My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me "

– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects
 
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– Chris McCann, Founder at Resilient.World
 
"FlevyPro provides business frameworks from many of the global giants in management consulting that allow you to provide best in class solutions for your clients."

– David Harris, Managing Director at Futures Strategy

Case Studies on Strategic Planning

Strategic Growth Initiative for a Mid-Sized Aerospace Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates within the competitive aerospace sector, grappling with the challenge of scaling operations while maintaining profitability.

Read Full Case Study

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Blueprint for Sustainable Food Brand

Scenario: The organization in focus operates within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) niche of the food and beverage industry, specializing in sustainable and organic products.

Read Full Case Study

Sustainable Packaging Strategy for Beverage Manufacturing in Eco-Conscious Market

Scenario: A leading beverage manufacturing company is navigating the complexities of adopting a sustainable growth strategy amidst increasing environmental regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly products.

Read Full Case Study

Market Expansion Strategy for Specialty Chemicals Firm in Competitive Landscape

Scenario: A specialty chemicals firm operating in North America is facing stagnation in its domestic market and is seeking opportunities for growth.

Read Full Case Study

Innovative Customer Engagement Strategy for Boutique Hotels

Scenario: A boutique hotel chain is facing a stagnation in revenue growth and a decline in customer loyalty, highlighting a pressing need for strategy development.

Read Full Case Study

Operational Efficiency Strategy for Event Planning Firm in High-End Market

Scenario: A leading event planning firm specializing in luxury events faces a strategic challenge in maintaining its market dominance amidst rising operational costs and increasing competition.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revitalization for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hotel chain located in North America, facing a plateau in growth after a decade of successful expansion.

Read Full Case Study

Digital Transformation Strategy for Hobby Store Chain in North America

Scenario: The organization is a leading hobby store chain in North America focusing on a Growth Strategy to overcome its digital presence lag.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Growth Planning for E-commerce in Latin America

Scenario: The company is a mid-sized e-commerce platform specializing in consumer electronics within the Latin American market.

Read Full Case Study

Corporate Strategy Overhaul for a Global Retail Chain

Scenario: A multinational retail corporation, operating in numerous countries with significant market shares, has found its Corporate Strategy to be ineffective.

Read Full Case Study

Revenue Growth Strategy for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization is a boutique hospitality provider specializing in luxury experiences, facing competitive pressures in a saturated market.

Read Full Case Study

Strategic Planning Revamp for Boutique Hospitality Firm

Scenario: The organization in question operates a series of boutique hotels in North America and has recently encountered stagnation in market share growth.

Read Full Case Study


FAQs on Strategic Planning

In the context of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, how can companies ensure alignment of goals and values without compromising their competitive edge?
Companies can navigate the challenges of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances through meticulous Strategic Planning, continuous communication, and aligning partnership objectives with core strategies, while protecting competitive edge by managing knowledge sharing and maintaining operational independence. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of their growth strategies in dynamic markets?
Effective ROI measurement in dynamic markets combines traditional financial metrics with agile methodologies, focusing on long-term value creation and leveraging advanced analytics, Balanced Scorecard, OKRs, and Scenario Planning. [Read full explanation]
How is the increasing importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping corporate growth strategies?
The increasing importance of ESG criteria is transforming corporate growth strategies, necessitating integration into Strategic Planning, redefining Operational Excellence, and reshaping Leadership and Culture for sustainable success. [Read full explanation]
How can organizations redesign their corporate structure to be more agile and responsive to market changes?
Redesigning corporate structure for agility involves adopting Agile Organizational Models, leveraging technology for Digital Transformation, and fostering a culture of Innovation and Collaboration to navigate the VUCA world effectively. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses balance the need for growth with sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives?
Organizations can balance growth with sustainability and CSR by integrating Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, and Innovation, focusing on stakeholder engagement, technology use, and transparent reporting for long-term success. [Read full explanation]
What is the typical duration of a strategic plan?
Strategic plans typically span three to five years, balancing long-term vision with flexibility for regular reviews and adjustments. [Read full explanation]
How can businesses apply the Corporate Strategy Maturity Model to benchmark and drive continuous strategic improvement?
The Corporate Strategy Maturity Model (CSMM) provides a framework for organizations to assess and improve their strategic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, development, and structured Change Management to navigate complexities and thrive in changing markets. [Read full explanation]
What role will quantum computing play in shaping future corporate strategies, especially in data analysis and decision-making processes?
Quantum computing will revolutionize corporate strategies by significantly improving Data Analysis, Decision-Making Processes, Strategic Planning, and driving Operational Excellence and Innovation, positioning early adopters for industry leadership. [Read full explanation]
Arrow   Click main image to view in full screen.

Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap (PowerPoint PPTX)

PowerPoint (PPTX) 20 Slides FlevyPro Document

Top 500 Best Practice $29.00
FlevyPro price: FREE (included in subscription)
This framework is developed by a team of former McKinsey and Big 4 consultants. The presentation follows the headline-body-bumper slide format used by global consulting firms.
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This product (Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap) is a 20-slide PPT PowerPoint presentation (PPTX), which you can download immediately upon purchase.

Most organizations only realize 60% of their strategies’ potential value due to issues in strategy development and/or execution. This gap between the strategic plan and actual performance results is known as the Strategy-to-Performance Gap.

This presentation explains the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, its root causes, as well as identifies 7 rules to follow to close this gap. These rules allow an organization to objectively assess any performance shortfall and determine whether it originates from the strategy, the plan, the execution, or its employees’ capabilities.

The 7 rules are:

1. Keep it simple—make it concrete.
2. Debate assumptions, not forecasts.
3. Use a rigorous framework—speak a common language.
4. Discuss resource allocation early.
5. Clearly identify priorities.
6. Continuously monitor performance.
7. Reward and develop execution capabilities.

By closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, organizations also eventually develop a culture of overperformance.

This PPT delves into the root causes of the Strategy-to-Performance Gap, identifying five primary reasons why organizations fail to achieve their strategic potential. These include inadequate resources, poorly communicated strategies, and unclear accountabilities. The analysis is backed by data from a Harvard Business Review study, providing a solid foundation for understanding the magnitude of performance loss.

The presentation also highlights the "venetian blinds" pattern, a common issue where annual performance projections consistently fall short of actual results. This pattern underscores the institutional practice of setting unrealistic goals, which can erode organizational culture and morale. By addressing these systemic issues, companies can better align their strategic objectives with achievable performance targets.

Lastly, the document outlines actionable steps to close the Strategy-to-Performance Gap. These steps include rigorous performance tracking, debating assumptions rather than forecasts, and fostering a culture of accountability. By implementing these strategies, organizations can significantly enhance their ability to execute plans effectively, thereby unlocking greater value and achieving sustained overperformance.

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Source: Best Practices in Strategy Development, Corporate Culture, Strategic Planning, Strategy Execution, Strategy-to-Performance Gap PowerPoint Slides: Closing the Strategy-to-Performance Gap PowerPoint (PPTX) Presentation, PPT Lab


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