8DECEMBER 2024OPINIONIN MYBy Paul Young, Chief Financial Officer, Liberty Bank, CTENHANCING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE THROUGH STRATEGIC PLANNINGIt's interesting that I get this question a lot and it's usually under the context of whether it's better to develop a three-year or five-year strategic plan. To me, it really doesn't matter what time horizon a company chooses as it relates to the shelf life of a strategic plan because the answer is the same: zero-it has no shelf life!Strategic plans need to be living, breathing documents to be effective and should never be literally or proverbially placed on a shelf. To help "make it real," there are three areas of focus that help ensure actionable strategic plans: strategic and operational planning alignment, transparent accountability, and rigorous execution.Alignment of Strategic & Operational PlanningThe overall planning cycle includes both strategic and operational planning that should be aligned to increase efficiency and improve results. For organizations on a calendar year-end, I like to kick-off the strategic plan update in April, after Q1 results are finalized, and complete the Strategy in the July timeframe. Notice I used the term "update" versus "create". Unless the company is new or recently merged, once the plan is created, an annual update that extends out one year should suffice instead of creating a new plan from scratch. For example, in 2021, a three-year strategic plan from 2021- 2023 should be updated to cover 2022-2024. A review of mission, vision and core values should still be performed with a SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) but in an abbreviated manner, versus the extended workshops necessary when developing a new plan.Paul Young
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